There was a time when every time we got an email message, the images loaded automatically. This came to a halt as the risk of potential viruses and other malware infecting the computers of millions of users, grew. However, Google is aiming to put an end to this problem by allowing images to load through the company's secure proxy servers via its Gmail service.
What this means is that Google will allow Gmail to display images by default. "You'll soon see all images displayed in your messages automatically across desktop, iOS and Android," writes Gmail Product Manager John Rae-Grant. This is a huge change from the way Gmail previously approached images where users had to grant permission for these images to load. The same thing is being done by the likes of Microsoft's Outlook.com and Yahoo Mail.
"So what does this mean for you? Simple: your messages are more safe and secure; your images are checked for known viruses or malware, and you'll never have to press that pesky "display images below" link again," says John Rae-Grant. "With this new change, your email will now be safer, faster and more beautiful than ever."
For those who are wondering if Google is taking away the option to choose, the answer is no. The option to fall back to how things were, will be available in Gmail's settings page, so if you're a person who prefers the old way, you will not be abandoned in this new initiative.
This move by Google could allow Gmail to become the safest and the most popular email client by far, which could force Microsoft and Yahoo to implement similar measures. The biggest beneficiaries here would be the users, since the days of clicking a button just to show a mere image would be no more.
Google says the new feature will begin rollout today on the desktop while mobile and app versions will get it sometime in 2014.
