Google+ comes up with a new way to infiltrate the Gmail inbox

Google+ has been blurring a problematic number of lines lately. Recently, the service was named in violation of a restraining order, and Google announced that soon it would be possible for Google+ users to place e-mails in other users’ inboxes without their e-mail address.

As the NY Daily News reports, Tom Gagnon, 32, was arrested in December because Google+ sent his ex-girlfriend a message asking her to “join his circle.” It’s unclear whether that means she was asked to join a specific circle, of which most Google users have many, or if the message was asking her to sign up for the service in general.

Gagnon, whose ex-girlfriend has a no-contact restraining order against him, claims that he did not initiate the invite and that it was an automated message. Another news outlet, Salem News, reported that the message was a result of Google sending messages to “anyone you’ve ever contacted.” In fact, Google+ will not mass-message everyone in your inbox, but it will selectively message contacts in Gmail.

Salem District Court Judge Robert Brennan admitted that he was not sure if what Gagnon alleged about the automated message was possible. Brennan said he would investigate the matter and held Gagnon on $500 bail.

Meanwhile, Google was rolling out plans to expand the communication capabilities of Google+. The company announced on Thursday on its Gmail blog that soon Gmail will start suggesting Google+ connections as recipients for Gmail e-mails. By extension, this means that users no longer have to have someone’s e-mail address to send them an e-mail, thanks to Google.


Google clarified that e-mail addresses used in this context will remain invisible without the right initiated action. If you send an e-mail to a Google+ contact, they will now be able to see your e-mail, but you still won’t be able to see theirs. If they respond, or send you a different message, their e-mail will become visible to you. In the Gmail tabbed interface, messages from mutual Google+ connections will appear in the Primary tab, while messages from people who are not in your circles will go to the “Social” tab.
The new “feature” works on an opt-out basis. By default, anyone who has circled you can now place an e-mail in your inbox, and if you respond to it, they will have your actual e-mail address.

The setting to opt out of the Google+ e-mails is in Gmail, not Google+, under the “General” tab, header “Email via Google+.” My setting was at “Circles” by default, but other have told me their default was set to "anyone on Google." Users can opt to allow correspondence from “anyone on Google+,” extended circles, or “no one."


Google further clarifies that people who are not in your circles sending e-mail via Google+ can only send one e-mail message. If you do not reply to or interact with that e-mail, the sender will not be able to send more (though they can reply to the initial message as much as they want). Gmail users can report spam or abuse for these messages, as well.
All of these Google+ changes are the result of the company’s privacy policy update back in 2011. Just over two years ago, the company gave itself permission to share data on the same users across all its services: Google+ can auto e-mail an e-mail contact, and it can message an e-mail address effectively without the e-mail address. Oh, and for a while people were posting ASCII penises on YouTube, thanks to Google+. That’s just the crazy mixed-up synergistic world we now live in.