Google's Gmail service has a new bug in its auto-suggest feature that's sending emails to the wrong contacts. When users start tying in the "To" field, the bug is auto-completing less used contacts instead of the most-used contacts.
The Gmail bug was reported by New York City venture capitalist Fred Wilson who stated that he got a bunch of emails yesterday that were clearly not meant for him. Wilson stated that this bug is particularly annoying given how much emphasis Google puts on knowing what we really want to do before we actually do it.
“Google is so good at knowing who you might want to send something to that they should do more than they do right now,” he writes. “They could easily pop up a warning saying ‘you don’t normally send this kind of document to this person’ or ‘you don’t normally include this person in the group you are sending this to.’ These sorts of data driven protections/warnings would further cement the already airtight lock they have on me and many others who use Gmail and Google Docs.”
A number of users have also reported the problem on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/cdixon/status/569268500184719361
https://twitter.com/ChloeAlbanesius/status/569926831626985472
Google has acknowledged the bug in Gmail and stated that it is investigating the issue. A Google spokesperson commented: “We’re aware of an issue with Gmail and auto-complete and currently investigating. Apologies for any inconvenience.”
Google recently update its Gmail app for Android to include support for non Gmail accounts. The Gmail 5.0 for Android includes a redesigned user interface with a modern look. The update also brings a few navigational improvements that make the app easier to use, including a new reply button at the bottom of message. The new design tweaks also make it easier to switch between different accounts and inbox categories on tablet versions of the app.
Source: Fred Wilson, Twitter