Gmail for iOS bug may have caused users to accidentally remove messages

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Google on Wednesday began notifying some users of Gmail's first-party iOS app that they may have inadvertently removed messages they intended to keep thanks to a now-rectified software error.

Gmail


Users' actions --?such as deleting a message or marking a message as spam --?may have been applied to a message other than the one they were viewing, according to a notification displayed in the Gmail iOS app and reported by The Verge. The bug was active between Jan. 15 and Jan. 22.

The issue could have also impacted those who used mobile browsers or the offline version of Gmail during that time, Google says.

Google is prompting those who may have been affected to review their Gmail trash and spam folders before Feb. 14 to ensure no accidentally-moved messages are lost. Gmail's standard retention policy for messages in those folders is 30 days.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    No bueno. Hopefully nothing of any import (family photos, buisness stuff etc) was lost or if lost, nothing permanently lost.
  • Reply 2 of 14
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    Mail.app bug = Outrage, condescension, rants about QA, Steve is dead, threats to switch platforms, discussions of “superior” apps.

     

    Gmail bug = It’s Apple’s fault, whatever, Google is fantastic.

  • Reply 3 of 14
    Use bing or yahoo much better only an opinion just because I don't like google
  • Reply 4 of 14
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by marko1357 View Post



    Use bing or yahoo much better only an opinion just because I don't like google

    Didn't Yahoo redesign its webmail interface recently to look more like Gmail? (http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/10/14/yahoo_mail_redesign_users_rebel_at_marissa_mayer_s_gmail_like_update.html)

  • Reply 5 of 14
    poochpooch Posts: 768member
    i thought google never actually deleted anything? that even though you indicated you wanted to delete a message, and that it appeared to you to be deleted, that it lived on in obscurity in some part of google's vast warehouse ...
  • Reply 6 of 14
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lord Amhran View Post



    No bueno. Hopefully nothing of any import (family photos, buisness stuff etc) was lost or if lost, nothing permanently lost.

     

    Note that it says right there 3" above your post that users should check spam and trash folders for affected messages. Nothing lost if people take action.

     

    This is a pretty big bug, and I'm sure the test team and developers are embarrassed about it. That said, there's no such thing as end-user software w/out bugs.

  • Reply 7 of 14
    No biggie. Just ask the NSA for a copy of your deleted mail!
  • Reply 8 of 14
    rayzrayz Posts: 814member
    "Something you did may have caused …"

    Love the way they do that.
  • Reply 9 of 14
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rayz View Post



    "Something you did may have caused …"



    Love the way they do that.

     

    That quote isn't in there. Making up a quote is kinda poor form.

  • Reply 10 of 14

    Well,

     

    This is the business model of "just good enough" service provided at no cost for the user.

    Expect bugs, personal information gathering, malware and advertising all over the place... The quality and privacy you ("do not") pay for...

  • Reply 11 of 14
    froodfrood Posts: 771member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post

     

    Mail.app bug = Outrage, condescension, rants about QA, Steve is dead, threats to switch platforms, discussions of “superior” apps.

     

    Gmail bug = It’s Apple’s fault, whatever, Google is fantastic.


     

    lolwut, where is anyone blaming Apple for this?

     

    Definitely entirely on Google's shoulder's.

    To their credit, they did find it and fix it within a week, they let their users know the details of the problem and what they should do to minimize the impact, and they actually apologized for it....

    To me as a user that makes me give them quite a bit of leeway as far as anger management goes- but admittedly I did not lose anything critical.

     

    Most Apple users I've seen if anything are overly tolerant if not blind to Apple's mistakes.  The biggest outrages I've seen toward Apple have been somewhat warranted IMO and the missteps are rare- Apple is usually excellent at customer management.  The only three that really come to mind for me are the 'you're holding it wrong' outrage and complete uncharacteristic Apple goof, the phone that locks up and four months later Apple releases not a fix, but a statement that they acknowledge it and are working on it, and the maps thing.  Maps is double edged.  I think it was blown *WAY* out of proportion, but at the same time Apple did it to themselves by making it the default and ensuring maps applications previously available to users wouldn't work on their new phones.  If users were unhappy with Apple maps as delivered they were SOL- and that's the real reason people got mad.

  • Reply 12 of 14
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Google on Wednesday began notifying some users of Gmail's first-party iOS app that they may have inadvertently removed messages they intended to keep thanks to a now-rectified software error.

    What is a first-party iOS app?

  • Reply 13 of 14
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

    What is a first-party iOS app?

     

    Should be one made by Apple, yeah? :p

  • Reply 14 of 14
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

     

    What is a first-party iOS app?


    I'm assuming it's an app made by the company that provides the service - so the actual gmail app and not something like sparrow that just connects to another mailbox service.

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