Google to discard Gmail's basic HTML; check deadline

Gmail basic HTML view will be discontinued from January 2024. After that, users will be able to use the standard view version.

Say goodbye to Gmail's basic HTML view as Google has announced its discontinuation. (Unsplash)

Gmail has been our go-to email platform for many years. Various businesses and individuals rely on the application for their important tasks. Gmail has become one of the mainstream apps as it offers various new and advanced features which make emails easy. Keeping the advancement in mind, Google has decided to discontinue Gmail's basic HTML view which was especially useful whenever the internet suffered a slowdown. Know more about the decision here.

No more Gmail's basic HTML view

According to a report shared by Google support, Gmail users will have to switch to the “standard” view as they will be discontinuing the basic HTML view from January 2024. The announcement said, “You can display Gmail on your browser in Basic HTML view until January 2024. After this date, Gmail automatically changes to Standard view.” But, no reason for the decision was stated by the company. However, we expect that the change will only offer benefits to its users.

The HTML view version did not support advanced features like the Gmail we use on our PCs and smartphones. Earlier it was developed to meet requirements during lower connectivity. The Register quoted a Google spokesperson and said, "The Gmail Basic HTML views are previous versions of Gmail that were replaced by their modern successors 10+ years ago and do not include full Gmail feature functionality."

The HTML view was designed for legacy devices and browsers, however, due to the lack of features and functionality, Google will only be allowing the standard version that offers features such as chat, spell checker, keyboard shortcuts, adding or importing contacts, custom "from" addresses, rich formatting, and more.

This news may come as a shocker for various HTML view users in terms of accessibility and those who have old devices and they will have to look for alternatives. However, the standard version has various advanced features that may be helpful for many as it is widely used.

The actual date for discontinuation has not been mentioned in the report it just says January 2024.

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