Lighthouse Journalism found a letter being widely circulated on social media platforms. The letter stated, ‘Google is sunsetting Gmail’. The letter said, “As of August 1, 2024, Gmail will officially be sunsetted marking the end of its service”. The letter also said, ‘After this date, Gmail accounts will become inaccessible’.
Claim:
X user Aadith Sheth shared the viral letter.
Other users too shared the viral letter.
Investigation:
We started our investigation by checking the reports of Google shutting down Gmail.
We found a news report where Google had responded to the hoax message.
We found a tweet by the official X account of Gmail.
We found a report which said, “After Google issues an apology regarding Gemini’s refusal to produce images of white people, including historical figures like the founding fathers of the USA, a circulating post on social media sites claims that the company is ‘sunsetting’ its flagship product, Gmail.“
The report further states that the information was a hoax. The tech giant officially dismissed rumors regarding the closure of the platform.
We also found a few tweets that confirmed that Gmail is not shutting down.
However, according to a report, Google will begin purging accounts that have not been used or signed into for at least two years. That means emails, Google Drive, Google Docs, calendar entries and photos will be erased from these dormant accounts.
Conclusion: Google is not shutting down its flagship product Gmail. The claim started after the tech company issued an apology for its AI-powered chatbot Gemini. Viral rumors are false.
