14 DAY TRIAL // Google has some good ideas and some bad ones. The latest one that falls into the latter category is the integration of Google+ with Gmail that enables people in your Circles to email you even if they don’t have your address.
“Have you ever started typing an email to someone only to realize halfway through the draft that you haven't actually exchanged email addresses? If you are nodding your head 'yes' and already have a Google+ profile, then you’re in luck, because now it's easier for people using Gmail and Google+ to connect over email,” Google’s David Nachum writes in a blog post.
“As an extension of some earlier improvements that keep Gmail contacts automatically up to date using Google+, Gmail will suggest your Google+ connections as recipients when you are composing a new email,” he adds.
Of course, this may sound great for a second, before you start thinking about the consequences. If you are a frequent Google+ user, chances are your circles are full of people you don’t know personally and some you may not even want to.
Regardless, you and everyone else with a Google+ and a Gmail account will be able to email Google+ contacts. Their email addresses won’t appear in the subject line. Instead, their names will be displayed in the necessary field.
Google will suggest these contacts as it does with any other email address you frequently use. For instance, typing in a couple of letters will display a list of all those in your contact list, including those from Google+, although those are marked accordingly.
The move has already stirred a lot of controversy and most are not pleased about the new changes, considering that this can lead to privacy violations. Despite the fact that Google has provided a way to get around the new changes with a simple setting, it’s unlikely that the spirits will cool too soon.