Gmail intros "Got the wrong Bob?" Labs feature

Saves the embarrassment of emailing the wrong Robert

14 October 2009 11:14 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Gmail has added a new Labs feature that users of the webmail service can opt in to, and is designed to save from the potential embarrassment of sending an email to the wrong contact.

"When's the last time you got an email from a stranger asking, 'Are you sure you meant to send this to me?' and promptly realized that you didn't?", asks the Gmail team in a blog post.

"Sometimes these little mistakes are actually quite painful. Hate mail about your boss to your boss? Personal info to some random guy named Bob instead of Bob the HR rep? Doh!"

The "Got the wrong Bob?" feature looks at the groups of people you email most often and then identifies when you've accidentally included the wrong person.

Gmail explains: "If you normally email Bob Smith together with Tim and Angela, but this time you added Bob Jones instead, we'll warn you that it might be a mistake. Note that this only works if you're emailing more than two people at once".

Meanwhile, the name of the "Suggest more recipients" feature has been changed "Don't forget Bob", to tie in with this new, related option.

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Software, Email, Google, Gmail, Gmail Labs

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