Google is rolling out an update for Gmail on Android and iOS that is moving what it considers low priority emails to the update inbox category.
Google’s email service Gmail classifies emails into different inbox categories automatically by default. This is done to display fewer emails to the user by default to avoid email overload according to Google.
Here is the current classification:
- Primary—Emails from people you know and messages that don’t appear in other tabs.
- Social—Messages from social networks and media-sharing sites.
- Promotions—Deals, offers, and other promotional emails.
- Updates—Notifications, confirmations, receipts, bills, and statements.
- Forums—Messages from online groups, discussion boards, and mailing lists.
- Reservations—Flight confirmations, hotel bookings, and restaurant reservations.
- Purchases— Order, shipping, and delivery emails.
Soon, Gmail will move emails that its algorithm classified as low priority to the Updates inbox. In other words, some emails that you would expect in the Primary inbox may not be there anymore.
Good to know: this change applies only if you have not disabled the inbox category system. This can be done in Settings > Email Address > Inbox Categories.
There you find options to disable all but the primary inbox. When you do that, all emails are shown in a single inbox in the Gmail application.
The change is rolled out only in Gmail for Android and iOS. The web-based version of Gmail won’t move low priority emails to the Updates group for now.
Google shows a banner in the Gmail app when it is activating the change. It says:
Now, Gmail puts messages that may not need your immediate attention in Updates. You can change this any time in settings.
Google told 9to5Google that it has been testing this change and that it has received positive feedback from testers about it.
Closing Words
Automatic classification of emails is always problematic and Google may make incorrect classifications at times on Gmail. You can disable the functionality entirely to restore a single inbox in Gmail apps and Gmail for the web though.
Do you use Gmail at all or do you use another email service?