![\"Gmail](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753010471_546_960x0.jpg\")
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New update does not solve Gmail\u2019s main problem.<\/p>\n
NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Republished on July 20 with a new report showing why your inbox is under threat.<\/p>\n
Google is on a roll with Gmail. Upgrading the world\u2019s most popular email platform with a raft of AI uplifts<\/a> that give its 2 billion users some serious decisions to make, as they balance privacy and convenience. And there\u2019s more of the same with its latest update, which helps but still leaves Gmail users in need of different email addresses.<\/p>\n The coverage of Google\u2019s most recent change \u2014 the addition of an unsubscribe button and backend process for marketing emails \u2014 has been universally positive<\/a>. And why not. Who doesn\u2019t want a simple way to dispatch spam to the trash folder.<\/p>\n But this is a bandaid when a different solution is needed. It\u2019s not an unsubscribe button you need, it\u2019s a fresh new email address. One that\u2019s not already sitting in countless marketeer and spammer databases pumping out content. And there are plenty of reasons to set up a new account and clean house when it comes to your contact details.<\/p>\n But that only works if the situation doesn\u2019t repeat over time. Even if you just want to prevent the current situation getting worse, you need to stop sharing your email address with anyone that asks. Thankfully, Google has a solution waiting in the wings.<\/p>\n ForbesApple\u2019s Next iPhone Upgrade May Be Bad News For GoogleBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n Changing your email address is inconvenient, and so Google has a halfway house. We\u2019re talking Shielded Email<\/a>, Google\u2019s answer to Apple\u2019s excellent Hide My Email<\/a> offering that enables users to easily create new email aliases instead of supplying their real addresses when asked to do so online. These new addresses can then be deleted when it becomes apparent they\u2019re driving a mass of unwanted spam in your direction.<\/p>\n This is akin to a new email address any time you want one, addresses that can be turned off at will. None of those you share these with can see your real email address, and that means when you turn one off, you also turn off anyone who has been sold that data.<\/p>\n Android Authority<\/a> unpicked a Google Play Services APK and reported that Shielded Emails \u201cwill be part of Google\u2019s Autofill system. Just think of all the apps or screens where Google pops up with its suggested autofill details based on your saved passwords and usernames; all of these should be the new home for this new Shielded Email.\u201d<\/p>\n This stops your email address getting into the hands of marketeers and scammers, which is materially better than having to group all this junk together and hit a button to unsubscribe. In reality, you didn\u2019t actually subscribe to most of this in the first place.<\/p>\n ForbesDelete These Texts \u2018Immediately,\u2019 Police Forces WarnBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n As Apple says, Hide My Email \u201clets you keep your personal email address private, whether you\u2019re creating a new account with an app, signing up for a newsletter online, making a purchase or sending an email to someone you don\u2019t know well.\u201d<\/p>\n Contrast this with Google\u2019s new unsubscribe offering<\/a>, which sorts junk \u201cby the most frequent senders alongside the number of emails they\u2019ve sent you in the past few weeks,\u201d and then lets you \u201ceasily unsubscribe in one click, and Gmail will send an unsubscribe request to the sender on your behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n This is not the same. As Google itself admits, \u201cit can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of subscription emails clogging your inbox: Daily deal alerts that are basically spam, weekly newsletters from blogs you no longer read, promotional emails from retailers you haven\u2019t shopped in years can quickly pile up.\u201d<\/p>\n Apple provides new email addresses on demand to \u201cprotect your inbox from spam and shield your personal data from hackers<\/a>.\u201d Unfortunately, an unsubscribe button does neither of those things, it just makes deletions easier.<\/p>\n Google\u2019s equivalent offering can\u2019t come soon enough. It has been teased since late last year and we\u2019ve seen pre-release code. I would not want this unsubscribe button to be seen as a replacement or to reduce the need. It does neither.<\/p>\n Google\u2019s latest Gmail update.<\/p>\n Google<\/p>\n The other way to reduce spam is to turn off your email completely. There\u2019s a separate debate as to the archaic nature of email itself and the need for something new. Its core architecture hasn\u2019t changed in decades and it remains an open platform that requires users to provide their core contact information to all and sundry.<\/p>\n This is why you need a new email address, of course. But sometimes email goes off all on its own, and you get the same result. Peace and quiet. We saw that with Outlook earlier in the month, and on Friday it was Gmail\u2019s turn to go down.<\/p>\n Per Tom\u2019s Guide<\/a>, \u201cthis was a significant issue and one that could negatively impact Google users\u2019 ability to do, well, anything,.\u201d The good news, though, is that \u201cit didn\u2019t last too long,\u201d and was here and gone before it received much pickup at all.<\/p>\n According to CNET<\/a>, \u201cit seems that the troubles began around 8.a.m PT on Friday morning, just as many people in the U.S. were beginning their work day. At this time, Downdetector saw sharp spikes in reports across all Google services.\u201d<\/p>\n Google<\/a> says it lasted for less than an hour. \u201cVarious Workspace services are experiencing elevated latency and error rates,\u201d with the \u201cinitial investigation pointing to a hardware infrastructure failure as the likely cause. Engineers mitigated the workspace impact by routing the traffic away from the affected hardware infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n For all those impacted, that was an hour without any spam hitting their inboxes. Kind of like a fresh new email address that no one yet knows or has in their database.<\/p>\n ForbesDo Not Use This WiFi Setting On Your iPhone Or Android PhoneBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n And the need for a break from spam is abundantly clear as soon as you take a look at the latest marketing industry\u2019s perspective<\/a> on this. \u201cThere are few growth levers that could allow a single person to grow a startup from $0 to $1M ARR in a matter of months. There are even fewer that could be done with nothing but an internet connection and a laptop\u2014and virtually no budget. Cold outbound is one such lever.\u201d<\/p>\n Picking up on Za-zu\u2019s \u201cCold Outbound Handbook<\/a>,\u201d Programming Insider says \u201ccritics of cold email often overlook the channel\u2019s inherent asymmetry between inconvenience and value.\u201d TL;DR, it\u2019s an acceptable trade-off for you to have to filter and delete.<\/p>\n \u201cReceiving an unwanted email,\u201d goes the theory, \u201ctakes mere seconds to delete or filter, imposing minimal disruption. Conversely, effective cold email campaigns can substantially benefit businesses and their customers, driving significant growth, employment opportunities, and market innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe definition of spam is surprisingly controversial.\u201d Recipients might not agree \u2014 it seems quite clear cut, but \u201cMerriam-Webster defines spam broadly as unsolicited, mass commercial messages. Oxford, on the other hand, emphasizes content relevance, suggesting spam is largely dependent on the message\u2019s substance and intent. The lack of a universally accepted definition underscores the difficulty businesses face when navigating cold email campaigns.\u201d<\/p>\n