Ads are a central part of Google’s business and, in many cases, the way that the company’s products are provided at no charge. That includes Gmail, which is starting to show more ads for a lot of folks.
Gmail has shown ads for years and years now. Google brought ads to the mobile apps a decade ago, and they’ve continued ever since, evolving from time to time with new placements and appearances.
Over the past several days, though, it seems Google has been turning up the dial on how many ads show in Gmail, both on mobile devices and the web.
Starting on mobile, we’ve observed that Google is now showing ads within your inbox’s “Updates” filter. That automatic filter is designed to capture emails regarding orders, select promotions, billing statements, and more. It’s perhaps the most useful filter of the three default options (the others being “Promotions” and “Social”), but it was also the only one without ads for a long time.
Now, Gmail is starting to show two ads at the top of the “Updates” tab, just like it does on the other tabs.
Beyond that, it also appears that Gmail is starting to mix its ads on desktop throughout the list of emails under Gmail tabs – they’re at least not showing in the main inbox.
Dozens of reports on Twitter show the change just in the past two days, though we haven’t been able to replicate it in our own inbox. Some users also report seeing more ads in general, instead of the two that Google would typically show.
As a person who works very hard to keep my email in check, I am absolutely INCENSED that Gmail is just putting random ads in my inbox now??? pic.twitter.com/5LompTLLPL
— rosemary h (@rohallma) May 3, 2023
When did gmail start putting their ads scattered throughout your inbox instead of just at the top? I do not like this.
— David Levy (@itsdlevy) May 4, 2023
There doesn’t appear to be any new setting to change the placement of ads in the inbox lists, and it’s not even clear if this is a change that Google is rolling out to all users. In any case, though, the overwhelming opinion seems to be negative regarding the change – which is fully understandable.
Are you seeing more ads in Gmail, or this new interspersed placement of ads? Let us know in the comments below.
More on Gmail:
- Gmail is adding a blue checkmark to better verify senders
- Search like a pro in the Gmail app, here’s how
- Google brings Gmail and Docs generative AI to 10x more Trusted Testers
Update: Headline was updated to reflect that ads are showing in the middle of email lists, not the main inbox.
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