Gmail’s new features will make your emails disappear

Two new Gmail features offer the interesting ability to make sent emails disappear into thin air

Google has added a couple of interesting new features to Gmail. We first heard about Confidential mode when the big Gmail redesign was first announced back in April. Another new feature called Undo Send has been spotted on the Android version of Gmail by Android Police. Both offer a unique way of making messages you’ve already sent disappear forever.

Gmail Access now

First up is Confidential mode. Resembling Snapchat or Instagram Stories, Confidential mode allows Gmail users to send emails that will self-destruct after a pre-determined amount of time.

Confidential mode is now available on mobile devices and can help you protect sensitive information from unauthorized access. Learn more about this feature → https://t.co/lmQNElH6C1 pic.twitter.com/Nxtx2yU0pG

— Gmail (@gmail) August 16, 2018

The feature has been live on mobile devices for a few days now and makes sending confidential information a much more comfortable experience. As well as setting an expiration date for sent emails, Confidential mode allows users to revoke access to messages that have already been sent. On top of this, Confidential mode will also stop emails being forwarded, copied, printed, or downloaded.

Unfortunately, however, there is nothing stopping recipients from screenshotting messages sent via Confidential mode. Something else to consider about this new Gmail feature is that it doesn’t mean emails are protected with end-to-end encryption like WhatsApp chats are.

Undo Send is a feature that was knocking around in the Google’s prototype Labs for years. The new feature is perfect for anybody who hits send without reading through the email to check for mistakes. It gives users 10 seconds to unsend any emails they’ve decided to send.

Whenever a user hits Send, a message saying Sending… will appear at the bottom of the screen and there will be a 10-second window to hit the Undo button. Unlike Confidential mode, which deletes messages that have already arrived, in this case, Gmail delays the delivery of the email until the 10 seconds is up. Undo Send is also available on the web version of Gmail where the length of the undoing window can be made longer than the 10 seconds available on the new mobile version of the feature.

There you have it. Two new Gmail features that will make your emails disappear after you’ve hit the send button. Don’t worry though, this article won’t disappear so if you think your friends or family might find this news interesting, hit the share button.