Google is apparently now placing advertisements directly into your Gmail inbox. Twitter user Anonio Gulli first noticed the ads. Gmail has traditionally only shown ads at the top and sides of Gmail so putting ads directly into users’ inboxes is a dramatic move, one that may upset users trying to cut down inbox clutter.
Ironically, Google is rolling out the new category inboxes to everyone this week. The new inbox is divided up into categories for social network notices, promotions, updates, and more. By including ads in your inbox, Google negates its attempt to de-clutter your inbox.
Thankfully, the ads will only show up under the new “promotions” tab, where you’ll most likely be viewing ads and daily deal emails anyway. These ads are in a limited beta, which is part of the Gmail Sponsored Premonitions program, according to Marketing Land.
Venture Beat reached out to Google for a comment and received this statement:
“Instead of ads always appearing at the top of your inbox, they’ve been relegated to a more appropriate place in your Promotions category. In addition, we’ve raised the quality of these ads and won’t show you an ad unless it’s relevant — which means you may sometimes see no ads at all in your Promotions tab. You can also dismiss the ads you see in your Promotions tab by clicking the “X” button on the right-hand side.”
If you’re still using the old Gmail interface, you’ll be immune to these inbox ads. That may be enough incentive for users to roll back to the old version of Gmail.
Do the new inbox ads in Gmail bother you or do you think it’s a move to provide higher quality ads? Let us know in the comments.
