Gmail facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids
Gmail

A screenshot of a Gmail inbox and compose box on Gmail's own webmail interface
Type of site	Webmail
Available in	133 languages
Owner	Google
Created by	Paul Buchheit
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Required
Users	1.5 billion (October 2019)
Launched	April 1, 2004; 21 years ago (2004-04-01)
Current status	Active
Content license	Proprietary
Written in	Java, C++ (back-end), JavaScript (UI)

Gmail is a free email service offered by Google. It's super popular! As of 2019, over 1.5 billion people around the world used it. This makes Gmail the largest email service on the planet. You can use Gmail right in your web browser or through its official app on your phone or tablet. Google also lets you use other email programs to check your Gmail, using special ways of connecting called POP and IMAP.

When Gmail first started in 2004, it offered a huge amount of storage: one gigabyte (GB) for each user. This was much more than other email services gave at the time. Today, you get 15 GB of free storage. This storage is shared with other Google services like Google Drive and Google Photos. If you need more space, you can buy extra storage through Google One. You can receive emails up to 50 megabytes in size, including attachments. You can send emails up to 25 megabytes. For bigger files, you can easily attach them from Google Drive. Gmail is designed to help you find emails quickly, just like a search engine. It also groups related messages together, which is called "conversation view."

Google's computers automatically check your emails for different reasons. They help filter out unwanted messages (called spam) and harmful software (called malware). Before 2017, they also used to show ads next to your emails based on what you were talking about. Some people worried about this because of privacy. Google has said that email users should expect their emails to be checked by computers. They also claim they don't show ads next to very private messages. In 2017, Google stopped using your Gmail content for ads. Instead, they now use information from your other Google services for advertising.

Key Features of Gmail

Email Storage and Size Limits

The Gmail webmail interface as it originally appeared

Gmail has always offered a lot of storage. Here's how it grew:

On April 1, 2004, Gmail launched with 1 GB of storage. This was a lot more than other email services offered back then.
On April 1, 2005, Gmail doubled its storage to 2 GB. Google even said they would "keep giving people more space forever."
In October 2007, storage increased to 4 GB.
On April 24, 2012, Google increased Gmail storage to 10 GB as part of the launch of Google Drive.
On May 13, 2013, Google combined storage across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google+ Photos. This gave users 15 GB of free storage shared among these three services.
On August 15, 2018, Google launched Google One. This service lets you pay for even more storage, which is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. As of 2021, you can get up to 15 GB for free, and paid plans offer up to 2 terabytes.

There are also limits on how big individual emails can be.

Initially, an email, including all attachments, couldn't be larger than 25 megabytes.
In March 2017, this changed. You can now receive emails up to 50 megabytes. However, the limit for sending an email is still 25 megabytes.
To send larger files, you can easily insert them from Google Drive into your message.

Gmail's User Interface

The way Gmail looks and works was different from other email systems when it first came out. It focused on searching for emails and grouping messages into "conversations." This means all messages between two or more people on the same topic are shown together on one page. Other email services later copied this idea.

Gmail's design team wanted users to feel like they were always on one page, just changing things on it, instead of having to click to many different places.

Gmail also uses "labels" instead of traditional folders. Labels are like tags that give you a more flexible way to organize your emails. You can also set up "filters" to automatically sort, delete, or forward incoming emails. And "importance markers" can automatically mark messages as important.

In November 2011, Google updated Gmail's look to be simpler and more "minimalist." This made Gmail look more consistent with other Google products. Some of the changes included:

A simpler conversation view.
Adjustable information density.
New, better-looking themes.
A navigation bar that you can resize, with labels and contacts always visible.
Improved search.

In May 2013, Google added tabs to the Gmail inbox. These tabs help categorize your emails into groups like Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. You can customize these tabs or turn them off if you prefer the traditional inbox.

In April 2018, Gmail got another new look, following Google's Material Design. This update included a "Confidential mode," which lets you set an expiration date for a sensitive message or even take it back completely. It also added two-factor authentication for better security.

More recently, Google has added new settings for smart features like Smart Compose and Smart Reply. They also rolled out Google Chat and Material You design to all Gmail users.

Spam Filtering

Gmail has a smart spam filter. It uses a community-driven system. This means that when any user marks an email as spam, this information helps the system learn to identify similar unwanted messages for everyone using Gmail. The spam warning banners also got a new, clearer design in 2018.

Gmail Labs: Try New Features

The Gmail Labs feature, launched in 2008, lets you try out new or experimental features in Gmail. You can turn these features on or off and give feedback about them. This helps Gmail engineers get ideas from users and see which new features are popular. Some popular features, like "Undo Send," started in Labs before becoming a regular setting in Gmail. Remember, Labs features are experimental and might not always stay.

Search Functionality

Gmail has a search bar that helps you find emails quickly. You can also use it to search for contacts, files stored in Google Drive, and events from Google Calendar. In May 2012, Gmail improved its search to give you auto-complete suggestions based on your own emails.

Language Support

Gmail supports multiple languages, including the Japanese interface shown here

Gmail supports many languages. As of March 2015, the Gmail interface was available in 72 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and many more.

Different Ways to Type in Languages

In October 2012, Google added over 100 virtual keyboards and other tools to Gmail. These help users type in different languages, even if their physical keyboard doesn't have those characters. In October 2013, they added handwriting input support. In August 2014, Gmail became the first major email provider to let users send and receive emails from addresses that use special accent marks or letters from outside the standard Latin alphabet.

How You Can Use Gmail

On Web Browsers

The modern version of Gmail works best with the latest versions of popular web browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. There used to be a "basic HTML" version that worked on almost all browsers, but it was stopped in January 2024.

In August 2011, Google launched Gmail Offline. This app lets you access Gmail even when you don't have an internet connection. It runs on the Google Chrome browser. You can also access Gmail on your mobile device through its web browser.

On Mobile Devices

Gmail running on Android

Gmail has official apps for iOS devices (like iPhones and iPads) and for Android devices.

In November 2014, Google added a feature to the Gmail Android app. This allowed you to send and receive emails from non-Gmail addresses (like Yahoo! Mail or Outlook.com) right within the Gmail app.

In November 2016, the Gmail app for iOS got a big new look. It added more colors, smoother movements, and popular features like "Undo Send," faster search, and the ability to swipe to archive or delete emails.

In May 2017, Gmail on Android added protection against phishing attacks. These are tricky emails that try to trick you into giving away your personal information. Later that month, Google added "Smart Reply" to Gmail on Android and iOS. This feature uses machine intelligence to suggest three quick responses to a message, which you can then edit and send.

Gmail also had another app called Inbox by Gmail, which was designed to help users manage busy inboxes. It was stopped in April 2019, but many of its best features were added to the main Gmail app.

You can also use other email programs to access Gmail using POP or IMAP. In 2019, Google added a dark mode option for its mobile apps on Android and iOS.

Gmail and Other Google Products

Gmail works well with many other Google services:

In August 2010, Google added a feature that let you make phone calls directly from Gmail's Google Chat. This was later replaced by features in Google Hangouts.
Gmail was also connected to Google Buzz, a social networking tool, and later to Google+. These social features were eventually removed or changed.
In May 2013, Google connected Google Wallet with Gmail. This allowed Gmail users to send money as email attachments. You could send money to anyone, even if they didn't have a Gmail account. This feature was later added to the Android app for users in the United States.
In September 2016, Google released Google Trips, an app that automatically creates travel plans based on information from your Gmail messages. It could find details like plane tickets and car rentals.

Keeping Your Gmail Safe

Security Features

Google has always focused on making Gmail secure.

Gmail has supported secure HTTPS connections since it launched. This means your emails are encrypted, or scrambled, so others can't easily read them.
In January 2010, HTTPS became the default for all Gmail users.
In June 2012, a new security feature was added to warn users if their account might be under attack by governments or other groups.
In March 2014, Google announced that all Gmail emails would be encrypted when sent and received. This means "every single email message you send or receive —100% of them —is encrypted while moving internally" through Google's systems.
Gmail also uses transport layer security (TLS) to encrypt emails when they are sent to and from other email providers. You can often see a padlock icon to check if a message is encrypted.
Gmail automatically checks all incoming and outgoing emails for viruses in attachments. For safety, some file types, like programs, cannot be sent in emails.
In May 2017, Google started using machine learning to find phishing and spam emails, with a very high accuracy rate.

Two-Step Verification

Gmail supports two-step verification. This is an extra security step you can add to protect your account.

Once it's turned on, after you type your username and password, you'll need to verify your identity using a second method.
Common methods include getting a code on your phone, using the Google Authenticator app, or using a physical security key. Using a security key became an option in October 2014.

Temporary Account Lockdowns

If Google's computers notice unusual activity that might mean your account has been hacked, they can temporarily lock it down. This can last from one minute to 24 hours. Reasons for a lockdown include:

Downloading or deleting many emails very quickly.
Sending a lot of messages that bounce back (can't be delivered).
Using certain software that automatically logs into your account.
Leaving many Gmail windows open at once.
Browser problems that cause Gmail to reload constantly.

Gmail's History and Growth

Gmail logo used until 2020

The idea for Gmail came from Paul Buchheit several years before it was announced. The project was a secret at Google for a while. By early 2004, most Google employees were using it for their internal emails.

Gmail was officially announced to the public on April 1, 2004, as a limited "beta release." This meant it was still being tested and improved.

In November 2006, Google offered a special Gmail app for mobile phones.
In October 2007, Google started rewriting parts of Gmail's code to make it faster and add new features like custom keyboard shortcuts. Gmail also added IMAP support that year.
Gmail officially left its "beta" testing phase on July 7, 2009.

Before December 2013, you had to approve images in emails for security reasons. But in December 2013, Google changed this. Now, images are visible automatically. They are routed through Google's secure servers, which helps protect your privacy by hiding your IP address from the original sender.

How Gmail Grew

Gmail has grown a lot over the years:

In June 2012, Gmail had 425 million active users worldwide.
In May 2015, it reached 900 million active users, with 75% of them using it on mobile devices.
In February 2016, Gmail passed 1 billion active users.
In July 2017, it reached 1.2 billion active users.

Gmail is also very popular for businesses. In 2014, a report found that while only one of the top 50 largest US companies used Gmail (Google itself), 60% of mid-sized companies and 92% of new startup companies were using Gmail.

In May 2014, Gmail became the first app on the Google Play Store to reach one billion installations on Android devices.

Misspellings and Gamil Design

Before Gmail was introduced, a company called Gamil Design (a product and graphic design company) had about 3,000 visitors to its website each month. In May 2004, a Google engineer noticed that the Gamil site's traffic had doubled. It turned out many people were accidentally typing "Gamil" instead of "Gmail." Two years later, Gamil Design was getting 600,000 hits per month! They even put a message on their site saying, "You may have arrived here by misspelling Gmail. We understand. Typing fast is not our strongest skill. But since you've typed your way here, let's share."

Gmail for Businesses (Google Workspace)

Gmail is also part of Google Workspace (which used to be called G Suite). This is Google's service for businesses and schools. When businesses use Gmail through Google Workspace, they get extra features:

Email addresses with their own company name (like @yourcompany.com).
Guaranteed 99.9% uptime, meaning it's almost always working.
More storage (either 30 GB or unlimited) shared with Google Drive.
24/7 phone and email support.
Works with Microsoft Outlook and other email providers.
Supports add-ons from the Google Workspace Marketplace.