Gmail | How Gmail: An Introducing Story of Its Launch Ten Years Ago

Zubairmahmood
21 min readJul 23, 2021

Gmail | If you want to pick one day to mark the start of the modern web era Gmail, you can do even worse than choosing Thursday, April 1, 2004, the day Gmail was launched.

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Gmail

Scuttlebutt’s assertion that Google will provide free email service came out yesterday: Here’s John Markoff of the New York Times reporting on it. But the king’s search engine optimization was still surprising, and the 1GB storage capacity — 500 times what Microsoft Hotmail offered — seemed a bit unwelcome. So when Google released the press release-stamped April 1, a lot of bad people thought it was really good nonsense. (Including me.)

Gmail became real, and had some changes. And a decade-long vision makes it look very important.

The first landmark service to Google since its search engine became operational in 1998, Gmail not only blew up Hotmail and Yahoo Mail, which are free webmail services of the day. With its massive storage, zippy interface, fast search and other advanced features, it could be the first large cloud-based app that could install standard PC software, not just add-ons.

It All Started With Search

Gmail is often cited as the brightest example of Google’s 20-percent time-long fruit, its popular policy of allowing developers to dedicate half of their working hours to their projects. Paul Buchheit, the creator of Gmail, misused this idea. Right from the start, “it was a legal case,” he said. “I should have created an email.”

He started his career in August 2001. But the service was a succession to a failed attempt that, several years before joining Google in 1999, became his 23rd career.

What does Google Email look like?

Even in August of 2003, two years in the making, Gmail had only the most basic features. That’s when another new Google employer, Kevin Fox, was assigned to design a service interface. (After leaving Google, he reunited with Buchheit and Singh at FriendFeed.)

Fox knew Gmail needed to look like Google; the challenge was that it was not entirely clear what that meant. The company has never provided many services: Apart from the company’s search engine, one of the few things that happened to Fox could find inspiration in Google News, which first appeared in September 2002. . Gmail would be a web application.

“It was a completely different kind of product,” he says. “Fortunately, they have given me a lot of freedom to explore different forms of structure.” Fox aims for something that has taken clues to both websites and desktop apps without implicit imitation as well. After three major worlds in construction, he settled into the most visible look in today’s version of Gmail.

Going Publicly

With its many advances, Gmail has been a skunkworks project, kept secret even from many people within Google. “It wasn’t even confirmed that it would be launched — we said it had to get to the bar before it could be something we wanted to get there,” Fox said.

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By early 2004, however, Gmail was running, and almost everyone was using it to access the company’s internal email system. It was time for a settlement in a public declaration. The date the company selected was April 1.

The Copernicus Center, Google’s monthly research lab, also announced April 1, 2004
Copernicus Center, the monthly research lab Google also announced April 1, 2004 Google

That was no mere random event on the calendar. Google had launched its April Fools corruption culture in 2000; the company was deceived in its 2004 operations, which included the announcement that it was hiring a new research center on the moon. Well, consider announcing Gmail at the same time can lead some people to think that the announcement was a prank. Especially since the 1GB of space was unimaginably large by 2004 standards.

Ten Years Later

One remarkable thing about Gmail that was unseen in 2004: Its creators built it to last longer. The current integration of Outlook.com and Yahoo Mail has nothing to do with the email services Microsoft and Yahoo offered over the past 10 years. But Gmail — although it added features more or less continuously and went through some significant improvements — is still Gmail.

“I can’t think of another app that was very close to its original form for ten years,” Fox said. “Someone who only used Gmail in its first iteration and suddenly used it today will understand Gmail. They will know how to use it in almost anything they want to do. ”

“What makes a product what it really is comes from an ongoing focus on the types of issues we try to solve for our users,” said Alex Gawley, current Gmail product manager. “Looking back to 2004, the biggest problems email users faced were having to delete messages due to lack of storage, not being able to receive messages and the amount of spam.” Today, great opportunities include Gmail-centered action — which Google does with features like live flight status information displayed within messages — and re-imagining it with mobile devices such as phones and tablets. Gawley says challenges like these are enough to keep the Gmail team busy over the next decade.

Well, no matter how Gmail develops, it’s now a structure. When new apps and services like Mailbox and Alto are available, the information they think has been created by Gmail, more than any other single email client, over the past decade. The creators of any new service would be happy to make Google what Google did for Microsoft and Yahoo in 2004.

38 Gmail Tips To Help You Conquer Email

Gmail is from far away. It is incomplete and sometimes promotes an outburst of anger for all its users. But let’s be honest: with Gmail you don’t get much.

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Like a web app, Gmail is a work in progress, but the amount of power under the hood is amazing. Of course, there are many add-ons and extensions that can enhance Gmail directly, far from its original limitations. However, not all technology-powered technology in Gmail requires special accessories. There is a lot that can happen with a large display without adding anything extra.

Knowing even a few settings will help you take full advantage of what Gmail has to offer beyond the basics. Let’s get started.

Pay (or Send Money)

Google Pay Send (formerly Google Wallet) is built into Gmail. Click on the dollar sign at the bottom of the message to send money or ask someone to pay. You and your recipient will need a Google Pay Send account with attached bank details; The Google Pay Send “Send via Gmail” setting should also be enabled. Maximum $ 9,999 whether sent or received.

Shortcut Cheat Sheet

Gmail is full of keyboard shortcuts for almost everything you can do. Check out the Minimalistic Gmail Cheat Sheet from Visual.ly for full details of the details. Or hit Shift +? while in Gmail get a pop-up list. To change items, click the gear icon at the top right and select Settings> Keyboard shortcuts> Keyboard shortcuts to customize the keys used.

Use multiple Gmail accounts

If you are a big Gmail fan and have multiple accounts, you do not need to sign in or out regularly. On the desktop (using Chrome, Firefox, Edge), you can sign in to multiple accounts at once; each can find a tab and stay logged in. Click on your account avatar on the right and select Add another account. After that, to switch between accounts, click your avatar again, and then click the account you want; no password entry required.

Add more accounts to Gmail With Gmailify

Love the Gmail interface, but don’t want to give up your Yahoo, Cloud, or Outlook email address? No problem. Google lets you add third-party email accounts to the Gmail mobile app, which brings Google features like spam filtering and inbox with tabs for those accounts.

Access Gmail Via Yahoo Mail or Outlook.com

On the flip side, you can also receive your Gmail messages in Yahoo. In the latest version of Yahoo Mail, click the Settings icon (gear)> More settings> Mailboxes> Install Mailbox> Google. You can also add access to Outlook.com, Office 365, or AOL mail here, too. Similarly, if you are an avid Outlook.com user, click the gear icon and select View All Outlook Settings> Email> Sync Email. You can connect up to 20 Gmail- or IMAP email accounts.

See which apps have access to Gmail

In 2018, reports have shown that some app developers may be looking at your Gmail messages as they create new features. So you may want to check periodically which apps have access to your accounts. Go to myaccount.google.com/Security and scroll down to the “Applications for third party applications with account access”. Click Manage Third-party Access to disconnect any applications you do not need.

Send From A Different Email Address

You can have multiple accounts based on Gmail, or multiple addresses in the same account. Set up all of those addresses in your main Gmail, and make it look like you’re sending from a completely different account, either individually or per message. Go to Settings> Accounts & Import> Send Email As, where you can add multiple email addresses. This is great if you are sending multiple messages on one account, but looking for responses to another.

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Submit messages to different accounts

While you can sign in to multiple Gmail accounts simultaneously on desktop and mobile, the only built-in iOS Mail app lets you transfer messages from one Gmail account to another Gmail account — or any other email using MAP. This is especially helpful if you receive business emails sent to your personal address, or vice versa. To navigate, open any inbox (or combined inbox for all accounts).

Don’t Label Spam, Block Users

Someone bothering you? Gmail lets you block individual senders. On desktop or mobile, select the three-dot menu next to the reply message button and select Block [Username]. Any future messages from that email address will be sent directly to your spam folder.

How to Delete Send to Gmail

We all know the fear of “send” an email soon. With Gmail, you can add a buffer to remember a message sent by mistake. The feature, called Undo Send, is now active by default and you cannot disable it. But you can adjust the duration of the e-mail. Click the gear icon and select Settings> General> Undo send and click on the drop-down menu to select how long you want to delete a sent message (5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds). Then scroll down and Save Changes. Whenever you send a message, you will see a retrieve link in the black box floating on the top left of the screen on the desktop and on the left side of the phone.

Drag Messages or Labels

Gmail has labels, not folders. They work the same way, even if they are not offensive to those who use the entire folder paradigm. It’s easy to drag a message from the inbox to a label and then move it away, archived for future searches. But if that message in the inbox needs more attention, you can drag the label from the left sidebar to the message, too. It stays in the inbox, but is ready to archive in the future.

Post + Archive

Write the message before it is sent by clicking on the options menu at the bottom right of the compose window. You can then archive as soon as it is sent to Setup, go to Settings> General> Export and archive> Show the “Send and archive” button. If the reply you type is already labeled, you will see a new button called the Send + Archive (or it may actually mean “archive,” showing the Gmail archive icon: a file with the arrow at the bottom.) Click that button and the entire thread will be archived. on the label provided earlier.

Preview emails in a window

Most email programs like Outlook provide preview — you click the message in the list and see it in another window. In Gmail, open this under Settings> Inbox> Reading Window> Enable Reading Window. Then scroll down and click Save changes. Your browser window will refresh, and when it does, you’ll see a four-line drop-down menu at the top right. Click to select whether you want to preview your messages: below your email (horizontal split) or right (vertical split). If no message is selected, the window provides a preview of how your messages are using your given space.

Dots Are Deceptive

The most popular secret ever with Gmail is that it ignores the times in your email address. So competitioname@gmail.com is the same as your.name@gmail.com or y.o.u.r.n.a.m.e. @ gmail.com. They all go to the same person. This feature may seem trivial, but you can still see the pattern, so a good idea is to subscribe to newsletters or share your email address — you can tell who sold your name to spam, for example.

Add Plus to your address

Another time-honored Gmail address trick: Gmail ignores anything behind the plus sign (+). So yourname+pcmag@gmail.com goes to the same place as yakhoname@gmail.com. This alias is incredibly useful for filtering messages, as Gmail filters detect compiled following. Therefore, if you subscribe to each newsletter with your own name + (This does not always work; many services do not allow you to subscribe to email addresses with “optional” characters as a plus sign.)

Search Your Search

The quickest way to do a power search in Gmail is to click the down arrow in the search box, which produces the search box seen above. But Gmail supports most search operators. For example, type “in: trash” and “in: spam” to include those folders in the search (usually skipped). Or limit search just to “in: inbox.” Use the “label:” followed by the label / folder name to search only that folder. “Filename:” followed by the actual filename gets some attachments.

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Customize the Gmail Inbox

This tip is about closing the feature rather than using it. A tabbed interface interface was introduced by Google in 2013 as a way to automatically add items to your Gmail inbox. Each tab has a category: Primary (which is your standard inbox), Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. Of course, that “category,” not “label” — is not the same thing.

Response to Can

Stop typing too much, especially the same message over and over again. Templates — formerly known as “canned responses” — are required for duplicate, invalid, and duplicate emails. Open it in Settings> Advanced> Templates> Enable. Scroll down to save the changes, and Gmail will reload. Create a new email and type in a canned response. Click the ellipsis menu in the lower right corner of the message and select “Templates.” Here, you can save the message you just typed as a template for future messages, or use a template already stored in the current window. If you rewrite the canned answer, you can save it with the same name for future use.

Smart answers and smart writing

Smart Reply is a machine learning technology that prepares three, short answers that are relevant to the messages you receive. One tap in a given response adds it to the reply window, where you can send it or write more. Appears in Gmail apps for iOS and Android and on desktop web interface. If you find these suggestions annoying or confusing, turn them off in Settings> General> Smart Responses> Smart Responses, and scroll down to save changes.

Google Stores ALL Photos

When you receive an email with an embedded image, it’s like a web page — loads an image from the source. Not in Gmail. In 2013, Gmail began storing all images running on its system. When you upload an image to a Gmail message, it comes from Google servers.

Sign out remotely

You can access Gmail from multiple computers, smartphones, and tablets simultaneously. In some cases, you may be logged in when you are unintentionally (on, say, a computer), or worse, you suspect someone is using your account behind you (turn on two-factor authentication to avoid that). On the desktop, scroll down to the bottom of your inbox. A nice print at the bottom of the page, said last account activity, followed by time. Click the Details link below it to see all account activity. Click the button to “Sign out of all other Gmail web times.” WP Mail SMTP documents

How to set up Gmail Mailer in WP Mail SMTP

Would you like to use your Gmail or G Suite account to fix delivery issues on your site? WP Mail SMTP’s Gmail option uses the Google API to securely secure your site’s emails, and to help them deliver them successfully.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to set up WP Mail SMTP using Google mailer with your Gmail or G Suite email address.

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Install and configure the WP Mail SMTP Plugin

  1. Before you begin, you will need to install and activate the WP Mail SMTP plugin.

Once you have installed the plugin, you are ready to configure the plugin settings. You can find these settings under WP Mail SMTP »Settings, and describe each option below:

From email

This is the email address that will be sent to all of your site’s emails. Once you have linked your Gmail account, you can choose the email address you would like to use (including any nicknames you’ve adjusted) from the drop-down that appears.

Restore Path

You can leave the Return Path settings as they are, as Gmail does not support this operation (in time, you will see that this field is disabled).

Post

This is where you can choose which email you would like your site to use. To set up postal mail, you will need to select the Gmail option.

Once you have selected this mail, you should see a new category appear as Gmail. Under this, there will be settings named Client Secret and Client ID.

To create the required information for these fields, you will need to use your Google Account to create a web application. This process does not require encoding, and we will show you exactly what to do in the next step.

We’ll get back to the WP Mail SMTP setup page later, so in the next step you’ll need to open a new tab or window in your browser.

2. Creating a Web App on your Google Account

In the new tab or window you’ve opened, you’ll need to sign in to your Gmail account and access the Gmail app registration.

Note: If you are using G Suite, make sure the Google account you are using has permissions to send email (in other words, access to its inbox).

Once you’ve signed in to your Gmail account, you’ll see a form called Register your Gmail API application on the Google Cloud Platform.

As an option for the project in which your application will be registered, the new application will be automatically built for Google if you have not built it before. Click on the continue button.

You may be required to agree to the Terms of Service for the first time using the Google Cloud Console.

Continue and agree to the Terms of Service, then select Your Residence

Country from the drop-down menu. If you would like, you can also choose to receive newsletters from Google Cloud, but this is not required.

After you have edited each of these settings, go ahead and click the Agree button and continue to proceed to the next step.

Once you click this button, you will see a confirmation message that the API is enabled. To continue on the setup page, go ahead and click the Go button for confirmation.

Create details for your application

On the next page, you will be asked a few questions to help Google determine the credentials you need.

In the first step called Authentication Type, you should make sure that the Gmail API is selected in Which API you are using. Under which data you will access, select the user data option and click Next.

Configuring Your OAuth Consent Screen

In this second step, Google will request the app’s basic information. This is not very important, as no one else will use your app, but some fields are still marked as needed:

Application name — Enter the name of the application of your choice, for example: WP Mail SMTP
User Support Email — Choose your email address
Application logo — Skip this option

Finally, add your email address to the email address field and click Save and continue.

Configuring Scope

Scroll down to the end of the Scopes section and click Save and continue. This category is optional, so you can skip it.

OAuth Client ID

In the App drop-down menu select the Web application option. The OAuth Client ID step will be updated after your selection.

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You can leave the default name value or convert it to something more closely related, for example: WP Mail SMTP.

Skip the authorized JavaScript source section and scroll to the authorized URIs redirect, click the + Insert URI button and enter it at https://connect.wpmailsmtp.com/google/.

Click the Create button to complete this step.

You are now done with setting up credentials, so click the Done button. Don’t worry about saving or copying client ID, we’ll do that later.

Review the status of the publication from test to production

This step is for users with free Gmail accounts only. Users with a Google Workspace account (formerly G Suite) must skip this step.

Google will put your application into auto-test mode. It is really important that you switch to production mode, otherwise your application will be severely restricted and will not work properly.

In the left-hand menu click on the OAuth permission screen.

In the publishing status section you will see that the application is in test mode. Click on the Publisher button, to switch it to production mode.

A pop-up will appear that “Your app will be available to any user with a Google Account.” message. Don’t worry, only you will have access to this app. This application will only be used on your WordPress site (instead of the administrator dashboard). Click the Confirm button.

Push Testing app to Production

3. Granting Permissions and Sending a Test Email
In the left-hand menu go to the confirmation page. In the OAuth 2.0 Client IDs section you can now see details of the web app you just created. To view Client ID and client secret, click the pencil icon.

Click the pencil icon to see details

This will unlock all the details of your application. On this page, you will see the client ID and client values.

Copy client ID and client secret

Continue and copy both of these values ​​to your WP Mail SMTP settings. Once those are added, click Save Settings at the bottom of the page.

Client ID and client privacy in email

Note: Be careful not to copy any additional text or spaces with your Client ID or Client Secret, as this will lead to an error in the next step.

After saving these settings, the page will restart. You must give permission before Google allows our plugin to use your Gmail API to send emails.

To do this, scroll down to the bottom of this page and click on the button labeled Allow Allow Plugin to send emails using your Google Account.

Authorize plugin to send emails via Gmail

This will open Google’s login screen. Continue to sign in to the account you set up for SMTP.

When you connect with a free Gmail account you may see the screen below. Users of Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) will not be able to see it because their application is only for internal use, setting, which is not available for free Gmail users.

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Gmail OAuth alert

Click on the Advanced link in the lower left corner. In the specified section click Go to wpmailsmtp.com (unsafe). Don’t worry, Google only shows this warning, because the app is not verified by them. There is no need for the app to be verified because you created this app for personal use.

Gmail OAuth is an advanced warning

Next, you’ll see a screen requesting permission for this site to send you emails.

When you are ready, click the Allow button to continue.

Grant permissions to your Google app

Next, you will be restored to your WP Mail SMTP settings and a successful message will be displayed. Now that the connection is complete, you are ready to send the test email under the Email Test tab.

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Open the email check tab in WP Mail SMTP

Once the test email tab has opened, you’ll need to enter a valid email address and click the send email button. Make sure you use the email address you have access to to make sure email is delivered.

When the test message is sent, you will see a successful message at the top of this tab.

A notification indicating WP Mail SMTP email email has been successfully sent

You should also receive a test email soon at the email address you entered.

An effective test email from WP Mail SMTP

Frequently Asked Questions

What If the Test Email does not send successfully?

If the SMTP test email can’t send, the debug log will appear with more details. Here are some error messages and how to fix them.

This error occurs when a client ID cannot be read correctly. To edit, try copying the client ID and then check if there is no white space or additional text.

Missing required parameter: client_id

This error will indicate when the client ID field is empty or cannot be readable. To edit, copy to the client ID and also be careful not to add extra text or white space.

CURL 60 error: SSL certificate problem

This message means that the server does not have the required certificate for SMTP to run. To configure it, you’ll need to contact your site hosting provider to ask them to install this certificate (possibly a cacert.pem certificate, although it’s best to ask your administrator to check).

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“Code”: 401,
“Message”: “Login Required”

If you see this in the debug message, permission still needs to be granted to your Google Account. For instructions on how to fix this, please see Step 3 of this tutorial. Also, be sure to check that the email from your SMTP settings matches the email used to set up the Google application.

Ask for a Biggest Business

Error 413

If you see this error, files sent in your forms may exceed the Gmail limit for direct file attachments to emails. This limit is used for the total text of the message and the encoded attachments. To prevent this error, you will need to make sure all files are no more than 22 MB.

There was a problem receiving Auth for gmail: Could not json determine token

This error is a possible indication that another plugin (such as UpdraftPlus) is loading a different version of the Google API on the site, causing controversy. If possible, the conflicting plugin should not work. Alternatively, it is recommended that you set up another email.

If none of the above applies, or the test email is invalid

Your Google Account may disable the Gmail API. To test this, follow Google’s API-enabled guide.

If the Gmail API is enabled, after following these steps you should see a small green box with the enabled API label.

Check that the Gmail API is enabled

What If I See The Screen Say “This Application Is Not Verified”?

When you click the Allow plugin to send emails using your Google Account button, Google may display a screenshot “This application is not verified. This app has not been verified by Google yet. Continue only if you know and trust the developer. ”No need to worry, though — the message only refers to the app you just created for your Google account (so you’re actually a developer in this case).

To pass this message, you will need to click Advanced and continue.

This application is not verified for error

What if I Want to Switch to a Different Email Later?

If you’d like to switch to a different Gmail / G Suite email address, you’ll need to repeat all of the tutorial steps above. This includes creating a new client ID and client secret under this email account.

When you reach the authorization stage (under step 3), save your settings and click the Delete Connection button. This will remove the authorization of your actual email account and allow you to repeat the authorization steps with the new email.

Remove the connection from WP Mail SMTP

Are Gmail Mailer Support Aliases?

Yes, as of July 2020, Gmail alias are supported by WP Mail SMTP. For more information on how to set up alias on Google, check out their guide on how to send emails from alias.

Can I use this if I have 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) enabled in my Google account?

Of course you can use 2 Factor authentication with Gmail option for WP Mail SMTP. However, it is important to note that if you choose to disable 2FA, or change the password on your account, you will need to restart the setup process.

When I authorize my application, I receive an error message: Error 403: access_denied. The developer has not granted you access to this application.
This message means that your app permissions are set to test mode in Google Apps.

To fix this, be sure to switch to test mode in production and try to authorize your application again.

Do I need to submit my application to Google for authentication to work with WP Mail SMTP?

You do not have to submit your application for verification, but you are welcome if you would like to. If you choose to submit your application for verification, you can proceed with the authorization process in WP Mail SMTP, without waiting for Google verification.

That’s all! You have now set up WP Mail SMTP for Gmail on your WordPress site.

Next, would you like to know how to resolve issues effectively within WP Mail SMTP? Be sure to check out our tutorial on how to solve a problem with WP Mail SMTP for more details.

Unlike some other services (watch, iCloud), Gmail is great with its free section. You get 15GB of storage between Gmail and Google Drive, and for most people, it’s good enough. But most people have been using Gmail for ten years or more now, and it’s not hard to get 15GB of data for that kind of time range.

Gmail

Gmail | Once you’ve hit the 15GB cap, you won’t be able to upload files to Google Drive, and finally, emails won’t get into your Gmail inbox. If you have been finding it difficult and difficult to avoid paying Google for more storage, here are some of the best ways to open up space quickly.

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