Google Migrates Users Away From Gmail
Has Gmail been replaced by Inbox? Many Gmail users received a strange message from Google recently notifying them of a experimental “Inbox by Gmail” service that has replaced their Gmail account. The pop-up appears when Inbox users login.
The message: “Thanks for trying Inbox! To make it easier we’ve updated Gmail to redirect you here.” Users have the option to make the URL address of inbox.google.com for Inbox and morph it as gmail.com.
Any user who wishes not to use Inbox to replace Gmail can choose “Turn it Off,” which will then push both services back to their dedicated domains. There’s also a back-to-Gmail icon shortcut added to the Inbox menu – for those who want to switch back to the old platform at any time.
“Google is looking to change the 11 year old service which has amassed over 900 million users and Inbox’s deeper trawling of user data allows it to offer a much wider range of intelligent automated features (including smart recognition of images, tickets, reminders and more),” writes Forbes contributor Gordon Kelly. “All this ties in with Google’s aim of advancing machine learning and the question of why none of it ever appeared in Gmail seems to have been answered.”
Inbox uses standard Gmail accounts and is continued to offer a standalone Gmail alternative, for now. But many technology analysts are questions how long the two will truly remain separate.
Source: “Gmail Ending? Google Starts Migrating Users,” Forbes (Dec. 5, 2015)