4 new features that will change the way you use Gmail

In today's time, almost everyone has a Gmail account. It may be because of personal choice or now increasing adoption of G-Suite by businesses for workplace communications, leading to a whopping 1.4 billion users per month that are making use of this email service.

After almost five years, the email service from Google has undergone a major revamp. The new features, that are part of this update, will be rolled out to users in phases over the next few months. As part of this makeover, Google has rolled out many new elements, both in terms of security and design, but there are some that stand out for the sheer way it changes the way we use this email service for the better. Here are 4 such features:

Confidential modeThanks to this new feature, you can experience sending an ephemeral email to a contact. You can think of it that this is somewhat similar to Snapchat or Instagram Stories. You can enable the confidential mode in each email by clicking the lock with a timer on it to the right of the send button in an email. After that you will have to select the time period after which you want the email to expire. Readers must note, the email will expire irrespective the recipient has opened the message or not.


Snooze featureThe Snooze feature allows you to put off emails that you cannot get to at that moment. You can access snooze when viewing an email by tapping the overflow icon in the top right corner. You can also choose till when you would like the email to appear at the top of your inbox, with options like “later today,” “tomorrow,” and “this weekend” as well as a specific custom date and time as well.

Integrated rights management (IRM)Just like the confidential mode, this feature also focuses on the security of the Gmail users’ information. Gmail will now let you block your email’s recipient to forward, copy, download, or print your mails.

New side panelLast but certainly not the least, Gmail will now be integrated with other popular Google apps such as Calendar, Keep, and Tasks. They are placed on a panel on the right side of the window. To access any app, all you need to do is click on an icon in the panel, after which it will appear on the screen, which is then shared between Gmail and a preview of the app you just clicked on, eliminating the need to switch tabs to access your other Google apps.