Let's talk about Gmail: How did the popular mail service evolve

In our blog on Habré we write a lot about mailing lists and consider various issues related to their creation. We already wrote about how to make responsive emails in Gmail. Now we will talk about the history of this popular mail service.

Compared to its competitors, Gmail appeared on the market not so long ago, but immediately became very popular. Today we will look at its distinctive qualities, which were told by one of the company's engineers.
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When Google first launched Gmail, its storage capacity was only 1 GB. One year after launch, on April 1, 2005, it was doubled. Georges Harik, the managing director of the Gmail service, promised to "increase this volume to infinity."

On April 24, 2012, Google announced an increase in mailbox size from 7.5 GB to 10 GB in honor of the launch of Google Drive, noting that this is far from the limit.

On May 13, 2013, Gmail, Google Drive and Google+ Photos disk spaces were merged, resulting in users getting 15 GB of storage for free.

In addition, users can purchase additional space. In 2015, the free limit of 15 GB could be increased to 30 TB for a reasonable fee.

Gmail Lab

It was launched on June 5, 2008. With it, users can test new features in Gmail, such as highlighting important emails or customizing hot keys. Moreover, they can selectively enable and disable various options, as well as leave feedback about each of them. Thus, the developers of Gmail determine the level of popularity of certain functions and try to improve them. Some useful features, such as "Cancel sending a letter," often "leave" the Gmail lab and become permanent.
All functions in the Gmail lab are experimental and can expire at any time.

Inbox tabs

In mid-2013, a switchable feature appeared in the Gmail mailbox, allowing you to categorize incoming emails. There are 5 main categories that are available in the mobile version of Gmail.

Spam filter

Gmail's spam filtering system is based on an analysis of user actions: you mark a specific incoming email as spam, thereby helping the system to recognize similar emails for other users. In the service settings, users can choose how the system deals with spam.

The company assures that the analysis of the content of the letters is fully automated and takes place without the participation of people.

Gmail for mobile

The mobile version of Gmail is available in more than 40 languages. This is a free service where many features are optimized for small screens of mobile devices. Since September 22, 2009, Gmail supports push notifications based on Google Sync for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Integration with social networks

On February 9, 2010, Google introduced its new social networking tool called Google Buzz [in Russia - Google Buzz], integrated with Gmail and allowing you to share links, media files and statuses. The service was added to all accounts automatically, which caused a wave of user dissatisfaction, so the idea had to be abandoned. Google Buzz stopped working on December 10, 2011, and it was replaced by a new product - Google+. From January 2014, you can send email to contacts from Google+ directly, without specifying an email address.

Phone calls from Gmail

In August 2010, Google released a plugin for Google Talk, allowing you to call from Gmail to phone numbers. Since the end of 2012, Gmail users have been able to make free phone calls to US and Canadian numbers, as well as make international calls for a fee. August 26, 2010 there were more than a million calls per day.
Using Google Voice, users from a specific list of countries can make free phone calls in the United States, Canada, and some other countries. Video conferencing and document sharing in Google Voice are currently integrated with Google Hangouts.

Gmail Search

The search function in Gmail allows you not only to search for information on the Internet, but also to find contacts, files on Google Drive, events in the Google Calendar and information on Google Sites. May 21, 2012 in Gmail, there was a function for completing phrases when entering.
Like Google search, Gmail does not support search by substring, but applies stemming , that is, it recognizes the basis of the word: for example, the query “month” will display results containing the words “month”, “month”, etc.

Tongue

In October 2005, Gmail introduced the possibility of handwriting in 75 languages. In addition, the service supports transliteration and IME, and also has a virtual keyboard.

On August 5, 2014, Gmail became the first email client in which users can receive and send texts with accent marks in words and letters that do not belong to the Latin alphabet.

Money Transfers and Payments

At the Google I / O conference, which took place on May 15, 2013, representatives of the corporation announced the function of money transfer via email, integrating the Gmail service with the Google Wallet payment system.

Later, the company clarified the blog: "Now, thanks to Google Wallet integration with Gmail, you can quickly and securely transfer money to friends and family right from your inbox, even if they do not have Gmail accounts."

The corporation also planned to start issuing its own plastic cards, but the project had to be closed due to the departure of the head of Google Wallet in early May 2013, as well as for several other reasons.

In November 2013, company representatives again began talking about issuing debit cards for Google Wallet accounts in the United States (initially, it was a single card that could combine all the user's credit cards). Digital Trends described the new Google product as “a regular debit card to pay for purchases through Google’s wallet”.

Security

Initially, Gmail used an insecure connection, in which only the data on the login page was encrypted. However, by manually replacing the “http://mail.google.com/mail/” URL with “https://mail.google.com/mail/”, users could enable encryption and reduce the risk of intercepting emails and contacts that were sent as javascript text data Currently, the secure HTTPS protocol is used by default, and POP3 and IMAP access is protected by TLS cryptographic mechanisms.

Although email clients, such as Mozilla Thunderbird, use the TLS protocol to send mail, it is not used when sending Gmail messages to mail servers in the target domain (if this function is not supported), so the content of the message may be unencrypted at certain stages of delivery.

On March 20, 2014, Google announced an increase in Gmail security. From then on, Gmail’s email is sent and received over an encrypted HTTPS connection, and “every email that is sent or received is encrypted during transmission between internal Google servers.”

In 2007, Gmail had serious security issues. Due to the placement of contact lists on Google servers and the vulnerability of the google.com homepage, the information in the accounts was not protected from XSS attacks. Vulnerability was eliminated soon after information about it appeared on the Internet.

In Gmail, spam is filtered and automatically deleted after 30 days, but you can turn off this feature if you wish. Due to the technical limitations of the POP3 protocol, mail client users can check the Spam folder only in the web interface. In 2008, about 75% of Gmail's incoming emails were filtered as spam.

By the decision of Paul Buchheit, from the very beginning of the service, the IP addresses of Gmail users are masked for security purposes.

Gmail automatically checks all incoming and outgoing emails and files attached to them for viruses. If a virus is detected in the file that the user tries to open, the system will automatically try to neutralize it. Gmail will not allow you to send an email with a virus; moreover, users cannot send and receive emails with executable files, including in archives.

On June 5, 2012, protection against attacks by government hackers was added to Gmail. In the event of suspicious activity, Gmail sends the following message to the user: “Warning! We believe your government-sponsored hackers may have tried to hack your account or computer. ”

Since 2008, Google reserves the right to delete Gmail accounts if they have not been used for more than nine months. In other mail services, the timing may vary. For example, Yahoo! Mail removed after 12 months.

2-step authentication

Gmail supports two-step authentication, which is a type of two-factor authentication. When it is enabled, when entering the account on a new device, the user enters not only the login and password, but also the verification code. As a rule, it is a combination of six numbers, which is sent to the phone via SMS. In addition, there are special mobile applications for generating code in the absence of a cellular network signal, such as Google Authenticator.

On October 21, 2014, Google announced that the Chrome browser supports the U2F standard, which allows the use of a physical electronic key. Users can choose it as the main two-step authentication method. Compared to the six-digit code, this method more reliably protects against phishing attacks and does not require a mobile device.
Lock for 24 hours

If Gmail detects “unusual activity indicating a possible account hacking”, access to it can be blocked for a period from one minute to 24 hours. As an unusual activity, the following can be considered:

1. Receiving, deleting or downloading a large number of letters using POP or IMAP protocols in a short period of time.
2. Sending a large number of letters that are returned due to undeliverable.
3. Use of software for file sharing and storage, browser extensions or third-party applications with automatic login.
4. Simultaneously opening a Gmail account on multiple devices.
5. Browser issues: constant page refresh.

Interface

This solution was originally invented by Google, but then it began to use competitors. General subject letters are grouped and displayed as chains on one page. Gmail's interface designer, Kevin Fox, wanted to speed up the process of finding the right emails.

Instead of traditional folders, Gmail uses tags that allow you to create more flexible letter processing mechanisms. For example, you can configure filters to delete or redirect incoming emails.

Story

The first to talk about the idea of ​​the Gmail service was Rajen Sheth during an interview with Google. The project then bore the code name Caribou.

Initially, the email client was available only for internal use by Google employees. It was introduced to the general public on April 1, 2004. July 7, 2009 Gmail is out of beta status. On June 22, 2005, the service URL was changed: "http://gmail.google.com/gmail/" turned into "http://mail.google.com/mail/".

Code changes

The Gmail interface was redone in mid-2007; A new version was launched on October 29, 2007: the contacts section, the quick access panel and the chat window have been changed. Integration capabilities have also been expanded. In December 2007, the new interface was set as the default interface.

However, the changes affected only those users who have Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2, Google Chrome, Safari 3.0 or later. Other browsers redirect users to the basic HTML version of Gmail.

November 1, 2011, Google once again redesigned Gmail, making the interface as simple and minimal as possible.
For quite a long time, browsers that do not support AJAX technology could gain access to the new version of the site through some manipulations with the address or with the help of spoofing. However, now the Gmail interface has become more advanced, and finding such loopholes has become more difficult.

Gmail for mobile

The company has developed a Gmail application for iOS devices (particularly for iPhone, iPad and Pod Touch), as well as devices running Android. Other devices have to use a web interface or other technologies, such as POP3 and IMAP.
The version of the Gmail 5.0 application for Android, released in November 2014, allows you to send and receive emails from addresses of other email clients (including Yahoo! Mail and Outlook.com) via POP3 or IMAP.

Language support

The Gmail interface is available in 72 languages. Among them: English, Arabic, Chinese (traditional and simplified), French, Russian, as well as Zulu, Hebrew, Hindi and others.

Applications

Especially for Gmail, Google has developed several supporting applications. Gmail Notifier is Google’s official tool that notifies you of unread messages in your inbox. The program allowed you to use Gmail as your default email client to open links to email addresses. January 30, 2014 support for the application has been discontinued.

On November 2, 2006, the Gmail mobile application became available, capable of displaying conversations, as well as all attached photos and documents. Working with mail on the phone is much more convenient through the application than through the Gmail web service.

On August 31, 2011, Google introduced Gmail Offline, an HTML5 application for accessing Gmail in the absence of the Internet. The application is supported by Google Chrome browser, and you can download it in the official online store.

On May 11, 2011, Google engineer Sundar Pichai (Sundar Pichai) reported that the company's employees had been using offline versions of Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs applications for several months and were ready to release them in the summer of 2011.

Google apps

February 10, 2006, Google introduced a new project called "Gmail for your domain." All companies that participated in the beta test were able to use Gmail with their own domain name. Later, the Google Apps package appeared, which included popular Google Calendar web applications, Google Docs and other services. The solution has several versions and is used by both large organizations and small companies. Among the existing agreements can be distinguished: "Google Apps for Internet providers", "Google Apps for business" and "Google Apps for educational institutions."

Awards

Gmail won the second place in PC World magazine's “100 Best Products of 2005”, giving way to Mozilla Firefox, and also received an incentive prize in the Bottom Line Design Awards 2005. In September 2006, Forbes magazine recognized Gmail as the best email service for small business.

Competition

With the launch of Gmail, many existing mail services have increased their disk space. For example, Hotmail increased the volume of cloud storage for some users from 2 MB to 25 MB, and after another 30 days - up to 250 MB. The storage capacity for Hotmail Plus accounts has been increased to 2 GB. Yahoo! Developers Mail increased storage from 4 MB to 100 MB. Yahoo! users Mail Plus also received 2 GB. It was later promised that Yahoo! Mail will provide its users "no limit" in March 2007. The company kept its word, but only in May.

All these efforts were aimed at keeping their customers from switching to Gmail, plus the company once again showed interest in postal services, and this is a good opportunity to make money. Gmail was a good competition for MSN, which launched Windows Live Hotmail, a service that allows you to store up to 5 GB of information with the possibility of further increasing disk space.
Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail not only expanded disk space, but also updated interfaces. In 2005, these services, taking the example of Gmail, increased the maximum size of attachments to 10 MB and adapted the AJAX technology.

Criticism of automatic scanning of email content

Google automatically scans emails to add contextual advertising and filter spam. Privacy advocates expressed concern that the company is analyzing private user correspondence. Scanning the contents of the letters, even if fully automated, borders on the violation of the right to privacy. In addition, the company scans emails of customers who do not use the Gmail mail service and do not agree with the terms of the Gmail service or its privacy policy. However, most mail services scan the contents of their correspondence to detect spam, and, of course, any messaging system must have access to the content of the email, just to display it to the user.

Google defends its position, emphasizing the need to scan mail in the interests of the users themselves. In addition, the company says that advertising is not placed in letters that mention catastrophes, death or any tragedy.

In 2004, thirty-one organizations to protect privacy and civil liberties appealed to Google demanding that Gmail be suspended until confidentiality issues were resolved.

The appeal stated the requirement to clarify the information policy of the corporation regarding the methods of data exchange and storage. It was also noted that the study of the content of personal letters for placement of targeted advertising certainly undermines user confidence in the postal service.

In March 2011, a former Gmail user from Texas sued Google, claiming that Gmail violates people's privacy by scanning their emails. In July 2012, several California residents merged and sued Google and Yahoo! .. The reason for filing the lawsuit was the analysis of the content of emails sent by people who do not have Yahoo! or gmail. In 2013, Microsoft made similar accusations.
In May 2013, a spokesman for Google gave the following clarifications:

“... on the part of users it is not reasonable to expect that the messages they send will be strictly confidential. You are not surprised when the letter you sent to a colleague opens his assistant. Therefore, people who write emails should not be surprised that the postal service processes their messages during the delivery process. ”

On August 15, 2013, a Google representative said that the corporation “takes very seriously” the protection of personal data and the safety of Gmail users, and in April 2014, the company updated the user agreement, where it tried to explain the purpose of scanning emails. The new edition reads: “Our automated systems scan mail to filter out spam and detect malware, as well as display relevant advertisements and links in search results. Analysis of the content of the letters is carried out during their sending, receipt and storage. ” According to Google, the corporation wants its policy to be simple and straightforward.

Other privacy and security issues.

Previously, the Gmail privacy policy stated the following: “Copies of deleted messages and accounts are deleted from active servers within 60 days, but they can be saved on our backup servers.” However, this item is currently missing. In 2007, Google representatives promised to "delete copies of deleted messages as quickly as possible."
In December 2013, Gmail changed the way it displays images in letters. In order to protect users from virus attacks, Google began processing all images before downloading on their own proxy servers. Now email recipients download images that came from Google, and not from an external server - no longer need to click on the "show images" button.

Technical limitations

Gmail users cannot send or receive executable files even in archives, as they may contain malicious codes. Another Gmail does not allow the user to send a letter to his box, if it already contains a copy of this letter.

Gmail groups letters into chronological chains (the so-called threads), which can cause some inconvenience. For example, if a user sends one letter to a large number of people at once, then all answers will be displayed in one indivisible correspondence. At the same time it is impossible to find the answers of one specific user without scrolling through the entire conversation. And although the service allows you to delete individual letters, most of the operations are performed only on the whole thread. Chains of letters can not be divided or merged. Due to numerous user complaints, Google provided the ability to disable threads on September 29, 2010, but only in the web version of the client.

Interruptions

Several times in the work of Gmail failures were fixed. So, on February 24, 2009, the service was unavailable for two and a half hours, and millions of users around the world could not access their mailboxes. Particularly dissatisfied were the people who use Gmail at work.

Another date is September 1, 2009. Google Vice President Ben Treynor (Google Treynor) explained that the failure occurred during the standard maintenance work - part of the routers was overloaded and the service was turned off for more than 100 minutes. Traynor wrote: “Gmail has an availability level of“ three nines, ”so we will try to ensure that such incidents remain a rarity.”

Displays the sender's address

Until July 2009, in any email that was poisoned through Gmail, the “sender” line indicated the address gmail.com, even if the email was sent from another domain. It looked like this:

user@gmail.com user@[ ].com

Google representatives explained this by saying that specifying a Gmail address helps to prevent mail from moving to the Spam folder. Some Gmail users have expressed dissatisfaction with this issue and called such a decision unprofessional. July 30, 2009 the problem was resolved.