Gmail Expands Unsubscribe Options
Google is to make it easier for Gmail users to unsubscribe from mailing lists. Users will now be able to see and unsubscribe from multiple senders in one location.
Gmail already has a dedicated unsubscribe button that appears at the top of messages that Google believes are newsletters, marketing emails or other bulk messages. This is separate to Gmail's spam feature which will report a message as unsolicited and could affect whether Google filters the sender for all users. Instead, this is for messages that were "legitimately" sent but the user no longer wants to receive.
When a user clicks on the unsubscribe button, Google will automatically complete the relevant process for the website in question. For example, it may locate an email address for sending unsubscription requests, then automatically send the message on the user's behalf. In theory it's nothing the user couldn't do themselves, just with less hassle and no need to visit the sender's website.
Single Subscription List
The big limitation of the feature is that it only works on a sender-by-sender basis. Unless they've kept old messages and take the time to go through them, the user will need to decide whether to unsubscribe at the moment they get a particular message.
Google is now launching a "Manage Subscriptions" feature that will list all senders who regularly send bulk emails such as a newsletter or marketing mail out. Clicking on any entry will show recent messages from that sender.
iOS & Web Versions Coming
The list of senders will also have an icon next to each that looks like an envelope with a minus sign. Tapping this (and tapping again to confirm) will unsubscribe the user. As with the existing feature, if Google can't automatically unsubscribe the user, it will take them to the relevant web page on the sender's website to complete the process. (Source: lifehacker.com)
The feature is rolling out on Android at first, where it will appear in the sidebar menu below "Spam" and "Bin". Google says it will bring the feature to iOS devices and to the website version of Gmail later on. (Source: 9to5google.com)
What's Your Opinion?
Do you already use Unsubscribe in Gmail? Is it a meaningful benefit over manually finding and clicking unsubscribe links in messages or on websites? Would you find a list of all "subscription" senders with unsubscribe buttons useful?
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Comments
Good luck with that
I often wonder what Google's [Unsubscribe] button does, as it does not always stop the mailings in question. And the senders seem to have a variety of 'unsubscribe' processes, which also do not always work. As for a list of all senders, it reeks of "tell me everything we don't know" about mailing list originators.
I would rather deal with the individual emails when they come, rather than work from a list. After all, if a sender is not targeting me, I have no need to contact them. It is only when I have had enough of someone's messages (for a variety of possible reasons) that I want to unsubscribe.
Just this month, I started receiving Loyalty Club messages from a restaurant group in San Diego CA -- I live in Colorado. Their 'unsubscribe' link presented a web page with options, none of which succeeded in stopping the promotions. The Google button also failed to achieve its purpose. Finally, I did a scattergun mailing to a variety of admin-like email addresses in their domain, and someone actually responded! Apologetically and helpfully, I might add. The experience left me wondering if their unsubscribe web page is actually faulty, with the company being unaware of it.
Be careful
A lot of the unsubscribe options - whether it's a link inside the email, or the 'one click unsubscribe' option sometimes present near the email header - actually do the opposite of what it's intended for. If you were sent an unsolicited email and you clicked on one of these links, then it actually verifies that you read the message. At this point, the spammer that sent you the email knows you're a good lead (because the email was opened and you interacted with it) and instead of removing you, they will add your email to even more campaigns. It's best to "report spam" instead and it will automatically get redirected to your junk mail folder.
Much more useful
Much more useful would be a button that sends a reply back to the sender that says that email address is unknown or inactivated etc. A long time ago, my IT manager told me NEVER to click on unsubscribe as that just confirmed to spammers that they were emailing an actively monitored address. As a bonus, they would then end up getting spammed themselves :)
On a sidenote, do you thing a govt issued email address would be feasible? eg keir.starmer.10.SW1A 2AA@RoyalMail.co.uk (UK PM + post/zip code). Mass mailers/corporations could be charged enough to cover the costs and only internal/white listed emailers could be allowed to email users. Reputable external orgs eg MS, Apple, Google etc could be white listed centrally; individual email addresses (eg foreign relatives) could be white listed for individual users?