Fact Check: Email message on Google sunsetting Gmail is hoax
A screenshot of an email message claiming to be from Google has gone viral on social media, informing email users that Google is discontinuing its Gmail service on August 01, 2024. The email message,
A screenshot of an email message claiming to be from Google has gone viral on social media, informing email users that Google is discontinuing its Gmail service on August 01, 2024. The email message, which looks like a realistic one, was shared by a user on X with a caption “Gmail is officially coming to a close August 1st”.
Several social media users have also shared the screenshot with different reactions and captions.
Fact Check: We found this claim to be false. The viral message was actually a modified copy of a Google statement regarding the sunsetting of basic HTML view in their Gmail product.
Though Google notified users that Gmail basic HTML view, designed for users with slower Internet connections or those using older browsers, will no longer be available in 2024. Gmail help center also carries this important information for the users.
As these rumours spread like forest fire, Google took to X (formerly Twitter) to dispel the misinformation surrounding its basic HTML version. “Gmail is here to stay,” Google tweeted
According to NDTV, a purported screenshot of an email addressed to Gmail users from Google showed the company was "sunsetting Gmail" on August 1,. 2024
ABP Live mentioned that the false rumour about Gmail's closure initially surfaced on X after several users shared an image supposedly depicting an email from Google.
BBC carried a statement that Google denies Gmail is shutting down after viral hoax
In Times of India, it was said: Google responds to hoax message on Gmail being shutting down and how the false message scared users.
Hence, the image circulated on social media is fabricated. It was actually a modified copy of a Google statement regarding getting rid of the basic HTML view messages. Some people probably did not understand it clearly & misinterpreted the doing away of ‘Basic HTML view’ in Gmail as Google retiring its email service called Gmail.