5 ms·

"Finally, a new confidential mode allows you to remove the option to forward, copy, download or print messages—useful for when you have to send sensitive inform

by pferde 9y ago

"Finally, a new confidential mode allows you to remove the option to forward, copy, download or print messages—useful for when you have to send sensitive information via email like a tax return or your social security number. You can also make a message expire after a set period of time to help you stay in control of your information." No, thanks. I like my e-mail archive under my own control.

steve19 9y ago
Anyone know how this works with IMAP? Does it just not show up in IMAP, otherwise forwarding etc. is trivial (ignoring the fact that you could just screenshot the message and send the screenshot)
- y_molodtsov 9y ago
  I'm not sure that even will be available to non-Gmail users natively, probably you'll just see a link to check the message.
  - dvfjsdhgfv 9y ago
    It can't be available as a message, only as a link, otherwise it wouldn't work. But in this case it shouldn't even be called an "e-mail", it only confuses people.
  - dantiberian 9y ago
    Yep, I think thats it. I don't remember where I saw the screenshot, but for anyone not viewing through a Gmail app or site, you get a web link to click on to view the message.
- josteink 9y ago
  > Anyone know how this works with IMAP? The email contains a link to a site controlled by Google which holds the actual "email's" content. Forwarding the email will only forward a link to an access-controlled resource.
  - Applejinx 9y ago
    Finally, email meets DRM!
    - josteink 9y ago
      Not to mention everyone who uses email may now need to have a Google-account to read email, even if they don't use Google mail services themselves. I wonder if they had any discussions about this internally, and if anyone on the engineering team objected to such changes. I find it hard to believe such a change was done by pure accident without anyone noticing.
      - bonesss 9y ago
        Discussions about it internally? They're pushing GSuite for governments, corporations, schools... Things like 'read receipts', email recalls, and such are common questions and common scenarios that are supported by their competition. I bet this is in a well curated list of requests from schools, healthcare organisations, and MegaCorps alike... For people outside the Google sphere there are numerous alternatives to make this appealing. A single-use link, for example, or just slapping OAuth on there. The baseline is open email, so any kind of trace-ability is a huge improvement.
    - icebraining 9y ago
      It's not new: https://protonmail.com/support/knowledge-base/encrypt-for-outside-users/ https://protonmail.com/support/knowledge-base/encrypt-for-ou...
- czechdeveloper 9y ago
  I'd expect they will just send you link to view message in browser. So you will not be able to view message normally unless you use Gmail and that is probably goal of this feature.
vntok 9y ago
Don't use it then?
- Mithaldu 9y ago
  Others might send you shit in that way.
  - DocTomoe 9y ago
    Then you reply and tell them that the feature doesn't work and send it to you in the standard way. Standards need to be enforced.
    - josefresco 9y ago
      > send it to you in the standard way What standard is that exactly?
      - DocTomoe 9y ago
        In this case, RFC822, aka. "E-Mail", which does not mention self-destructing electronic messages.
hestefisk 9y ago
Lame feature. Take screenshot. File / forward to circumvent.
- cooper12 9y ago
  "Features" like these are actually worse than useless because they give users a false sense of security.
  - y_molodtsov 9y ago
    I don't understand the hate. It's still a good way to send a password or some financial information, just because you know that it's going to be deleted soon and if in the future your contact's account is hacked it will be long gone. Basically, it's a secret chat for email.
    - mimsee 9y ago
      >This message will get deleted in 2 years. >Password is piedpiper123 "Oh, better I copy the password to my computer if I ever need it."
      - y_molodtsov 9y ago
        This is just a tool, some people may find it useful, others probably won't even use it.
    - DocTomoe 9y ago
      Well, i wonder how they will make other mail providers (or clients, for that matter) to honour this kind of mail headers.
      - bonesss 9y ago
        My take on the criticism here is that people are ignoring that Google has a lot of customers on GMail and a lot of corporations on GSuite. Intra-office email management is another ballgame and these kinds of features are pretty common in that space (Novell had them in the 90s even). For users outside of Googles platform the obvious solution is either not to send them or to send a managed link to the message contents via normal email. It can't be perfect thanks to the analogue hole, but it only has to be a bit better than nothing to provide utility.
lloeki 9y ago
Since I automatically forward my Gmail to another (main, non-gmail) address, this means I may not receive those mails.
- Mithaldu 9y ago
  Gmail will send you a link, so you can at least tell the person off and have them communicate with you like a real human being.
chaz6 9y ago
It sounds like another way to get people to visit google sites. Presumably if you email someone who isn't on gmail they will get a link they have to open in a browser, and unless you enable invasive javascript, you will not be able to view the message.
swiley 9y ago
People will probably just write rules to bounce these.
thunderrabbit 9y ago
To me, it violates the principle of email. It's a static thing that cannot be edited, excepted deleted by the recipient. This new "remotely deletable" thing must be essentially a link to a Google controlled page in the form of an email.
kemonocode 9y ago
I find this a rather dangerous precedent. At best, it's an incompatible extension over what would be standard email and it further expands Google's walled garden, and at worst it sets up a false expectation of security, ending up as little as snake oil and possibly setting up people to dangerous situations. Nothing hints at messages being PGP encrypted (Or being encrypted, period. "Recipient verification" just looks to me like a way to get an acknowledgment of receipt) or even how Google disposes of "expired" messages.
- your-nanny 9y ago
  How would this work outside google's garde?

by pferde 9y ago

steve19 9y ago

Anyone know how this works with IMAP? Does it just not show up in IMAP, otherwise forwarding etc. is trivial (ignoring the fact that you could just screenshot the message and send the screenshot)

y_molodtsov 9y ago
I'm not sure that even will be available to non-Gmail users natively, probably you'll just see a link to check the message.
- dvfjsdhgfv 9y ago
  It can't be available as a message, only as a link, otherwise it wouldn't work. But in this case it shouldn't even be called an "e-mail", it only confuses people.
- dantiberian 9y ago
  Yep, I think thats it. I don't remember where I saw the screenshot, but for anyone not viewing through a Gmail app or site, you get a web link to click on to view the message.
josteink 9y ago
> Anyone know how this works with IMAP? The email contains a link to a site controlled by Google which holds the actual "email's" content. Forwarding the email will only forward a link to an access-controlled resource.
- Applejinx 9y ago
  Finally, email meets DRM!
  - josteink 9y ago
    Not to mention everyone who uses email may now need to have a Google-account to read email, even if they don't use Google mail services themselves. I wonder if they had any discussions about this internally, and if anyone on the engineering team objected to such changes. I find it hard to believe such a change was done by pure accident without anyone noticing.
    - bonesss 9y ago
      Discussions about it internally? They're pushing GSuite for governments, corporations, schools... Things like 'read receipts', email recalls, and such are common questions and common scenarios that are supported by their competition. I bet this is in a well curated list of requests from schools, healthcare organisations, and MegaCorps alike... For people outside the Google sphere there are numerous alternatives to make this appealing. A single-use link, for example, or just slapping OAuth on there. The baseline is open email, so any kind of trace-ability is a huge improvement.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    It's not new: https://protonmail.com/support/knowledge-base/encrypt-for-outside-users/ https://protonmail.com/support/knowledge-base/encrypt-for-ou...
czechdeveloper 9y ago
I'd expect they will just send you link to view message in browser. So you will not be able to view message normally unless you use Gmail and that is probably goal of this feature.

vntok 9y ago

Don't use it then?

Mithaldu 9y ago
Others might send you shit in that way.
- DocTomoe 9y ago
  Then you reply and tell them that the feature doesn't work and send it to you in the standard way. Standards need to be enforced.
  - josefresco 9y ago
    > send it to you in the standard way What standard is that exactly?
    - DocTomoe 9y ago
      In this case, RFC822, aka. "E-Mail", which does not mention self-destructing electronic messages.

hestefisk 9y ago

Lame feature. Take screenshot. File / forward to circumvent.

cooper12 9y ago
"Features" like these are actually worse than useless because they give users a false sense of security.
- y_molodtsov 9y ago
  I don't understand the hate. It's still a good way to send a password or some financial information, just because you know that it's going to be deleted soon and if in the future your contact's account is hacked it will be long gone. Basically, it's a secret chat for email.
  - mimsee 9y ago
    >This message will get deleted in 2 years. >Password is piedpiper123 "Oh, better I copy the password to my computer if I ever need it."
    - y_molodtsov 9y ago
      This is just a tool, some people may find it useful, others probably won't even use it.
  - DocTomoe 9y ago
    Well, i wonder how they will make other mail providers (or clients, for that matter) to honour this kind of mail headers.
    - bonesss 9y ago
      My take on the criticism here is that people are ignoring that Google has a lot of customers on GMail and a lot of corporations on GSuite. Intra-office email management is another ballgame and these kinds of features are pretty common in that space (Novell had them in the 90s even). For users outside of Googles platform the obvious solution is either not to send them or to send a managed link to the message contents via normal email. It can't be perfect thanks to the analogue hole, but it only has to be a bit better than nothing to provide utility.

lloeki 9y ago

Since I automatically forward my Gmail to another (main, non-gmail) address, this means I may not receive those mails.

Mithaldu 9y ago
Gmail will send you a link, so you can at least tell the person off and have them communicate with you like a real human being.

chaz6 9y ago

It sounds like another way to get people to visit google sites. Presumably if you email someone who isn't on gmail they will get a link they have to open in a browser, and unless you enable invasive javascript, you will not be able to view the message.

swiley 9y ago

People will probably just write rules to bounce these.

thunderrabbit 9y ago

To me, it violates the principle of email. It's a static thing that cannot be edited, excepted deleted by the recipient. This new "remotely deletable" thing must be essentially a link to a Google controlled page in the form of an email.

kemonocode 9y ago

I find this a rather dangerous precedent. At best, it's an incompatible extension over what would be standard email and it further expands Google's walled garden, and at worst it sets up a false expectation of security, ending up as little as snake oil and possibly setting up people to dangerous situations. Nothing hints at messages being PGP encrypted (Or being encrypted, period. "Recipient verification" just looks to me like a way to get an acknowledgment of receipt) or even how Google disposes of "expired" messages.

your-nanny 9y ago
How would this work outside google's garde?