Gmail-Google+ Link Makes You Easier to Reach -- For Better or Worse

There’s convenient, and then there’s just plain invasive.

Gmail and Google+ are hooking up like never before. Soon, any Google+ user will be able to send emails to other Google+ users over Gmail, even if they don’t know each others’ Gmail addresses.

So, simply put, say you’re trying to send an email to me, but don’t know my Gmail address. If you’re connected to me on Google+, you’ll be able to send that message to me regardless.

It’s slightly complicated, and there are a bunch of caveats (as there always are with Google settings). You can’t spam people with more than one email, and all messages sent via this method will be relegated to the “social” Gmail tab.

But essentially, this is a massive easing of the friction involved in sending messages to other Google users. And it’s opt-out — meaning you’ll have to explicitly choose not to allow this when Google rolls the feature out slowly over the next few days.

In a sense, it’s baffling that Google would make the choice to do something like this — especially after the massive disaster that was Google Buzz (which this new feature looks to have at least some similarities with). I’ve had three ex-Google employees email me incredulous messages in the past hour, wondering why Google is incorporating the new feature.

Even former Google+ team member Kevin Rose thinks as much:

(my opinion) If Google+ users need to communicate build an internal messaging tool, connecting gmail doesn't make any sense…

— Kevin Rose (@kevinrose) January 9, 2014

To be fair to Google here, I can see how it’s at least somewhat convenient, in that you’ll be able to send messages to people you just haven’t been in touch with before. I guess if you’re an avid Google+ user, that may be helpful.

But for most everyone else, this seems like an added feature that will cause more headaches and privacy upsets than anything else.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via