Google Said To Be Planning Self-Destructing Email On Gmail; Here’s How It Works

Alongside the design makeover of the Gmail web interface, Google is planning to bring new features to the popular email client. According to the reports, Gmail web interface will have a cleaner look themed on Material Design, in addition to a number of features, some of which have been revamped while some are fresh.

The new Gmail design is reportedly due to launch at the I/O conference in May. One of the new and much-talked features is the Confidential Mode that is reportedly debuting with the new Gmail. The Confidential Mode will offer functionalities that will disallow the recipient from performing the restricted actions on the email.

According to a report by TechCrunch, Google is mulling a new feature called Confidential Mode for the Gmail that would let the email sender choose if the recipient can forward the email, copy or paste the email contents, download or print the email, or even flag the email with self-destruct option. While the recipient will lose his control on what he or she can do with the email sent in the Confidential Mode, the self-destruct feature will remove the email discreetly from the recipient’s Inbox.

Screenshots show that a sender can schedule an email to self-destruct for a particular time and date, after which the email would either be unreadable or vanish completely. In order to activate the Confidential Mode, the sender needs to tap on the lock icon in the Compose email pop-up box.

In addition to scheduling the email for self-destructing, you can even assign a password to the email, so that the recipient, on getting the email, is required to enter the password to open it. As the name suggests, this email feature is for confidential emails that want the negligible attention of others.

But wait, technology has gone by far than we expected, you still can be a sitting duck, here’s why…  The report further points out that despite prohibiting the users from copying and pasting, downloading and printing the email, screenshots could still be taken. The new feature will also require the recipient to log-in to their Gmail account to read the email for security purpose. The new Gmail web interface is expected to make its debut in coming weeks. Some earlier reports said that Google could begin beta testing of the new Gmail for select users before the wider rollout happens.

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