Google's April Fools' Day prank for Gmail backfired in spectacular style today after users claimed that it caused them to inadvertently offend friends and family, or in some cases lose their job.
The now-removed "Gmail Mic Drop" function allowed users to "send and mic drop" an e-mail, which automatically attached a GIF of a minion—yes, those weird yellow ones from Despicable Me—dropping a mic, before muting the conversation and archiving it. The prank is mildly amusing, but it wasn't so much the prank itself as the execution that caused problems.
Instead of functionality that users opted into, or was made distinct from Gmail's regular functions, the "send and mic drop" button replaced the often-used "send and archive" button, which lets users close a conversation and file the thread away. Many users typing with muscle memory, not aware that the functionality had been changed, or even that just misclicked—the button does sit right next to the send button after all—took to Twitter saying they had accidentally sent the e-mail to bosses, clients, and others that wouldn't have found the GIF particularly amusing.
"Today, Gmail is making it easier to have the last word on any e-mail with Mic Drop,"
reads the blog post announcing the feature. "Simply reply to any e-mail using the new 'Send + Mic Drop' button. Everyone will get your message, but that's the last you'll ever hear about it. Yes, even if folks try to respond, you won't see it."
Following user backlash, the blog post was updated: "Well, it looks like we pranked ourselves this year. Due to a bug, the Mic Drop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs. We’re truly sorry. The feature has been turned off. If you are still seeing it, please reload your Gmail page."
Unfortunately for Google, it didn't turn off the feature soon enough. One user writing on the Google help forum claimed that it cost him a new job.
"I just sent off an e-mail with my resume to the first person who wanted to interview me in months. I clicked the wrong button and sent it with the mic drop. Well, I guess I'm not getting that job. Words cannot describe how pissed off I am right now. I'm actually shaking. One click, ONE CLICK and I lost the job. Goddamnit. Not funny, google. I'm going to go cry now."
Another user, a professional writer,
claimed to have lost his current job thanks to the prank.
"I am a writer and had a deadline to meet. I sent my articles to my boss and never heard back from her. I inadvertently sent the e-mail using the 'Mic Drop' send button. There were corrections that needed to be made on my articles and I never received her replies. My boss took offence to the Mic Drop animation and assumed that I didn't reply to her because I thought her input was petty (hence the Mic Drop). I just woke up to a very angry voicemail from her which is how I found out about this "hilarious" prank."
Google's April Fools' Day prank for Gmail backfired in spectacular style today after users claimed that it caused them to inadvertently offend friends and family, or in some cases lose their job.
The now-removed "Gmail Mic Drop" function allowed users to "send and mic drop" an e-mail, which automatically attached a GIF of a minion—yes, those weird yellow ones from Despicable Me—dropping a mic, before muting the conversation and archiving it. The prank is mildly amusing, but it wasn't so much the prank itself as the execution that caused problems.
Instead of functionality that users opted into, or was made distinct from Gmail's regular functions, the "send and mic drop" button replaced the often-used "send and archive" button, which lets users close a conversation and file the thread away. Many users typing with muscle memory, not aware that the functionality had been changed, or even that just misclicked—the button does sit right next to the send button after all—took to Twitter saying they had accidentally sent the e-mail to bosses, clients, and others that wouldn't have found the GIF particularly amusing.
"Today, Gmail is making it easier to have the last word on any e-mail with Mic Drop," reads the blog post announcing the feature. "Simply reply to any e-mail using the new 'Send + Mic Drop' button. Everyone will get your message, but that's the last you'll ever hear about it. Yes, even if folks try to respond, you won't see it."
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Following user backlash, the blog post was updated: "Well, it looks like we pranked ourselves this year. Due to a bug, the Mic Drop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs. We’re truly sorry. The feature has been turned off. If you are still seeing it, please reload your Gmail page."
Unfortunately for Google, it didn't turn off the feature soon enough. One user writing on the Google help forum claimed that it cost him a new job.
"I just sent off an e-mail with my resume to the first person who wanted to interview me in months. I clicked the wrong button and sent it with the mic drop. Well, I guess I'm not getting that job. Words cannot describe how pissed off I am right now. I'm actually shaking. One click, ONE CLICK and I lost the job. Goddamnit. Not funny, google. I'm going to go cry now."
Another user, a professional writer, claimed to have lost his current job thanks to the prank.
"I am a writer and had a deadline to meet. I sent my articles to my boss and never heard back from her. I inadvertently sent the e-mail using the 'Mic Drop' send button. There were corrections that needed to be made on my articles and I never received her replies. My boss took offence to the Mic Drop animation and assumed that I didn't reply to her because I thought her input was petty (hence the Mic Drop). I just woke up to a very angry voicemail from her which is how I found out about this "hilarious" prank."
To make matters worse, the feature was buggy too. In
one scenario—which Ars' own Sam Machkovech was able to reproduce—if users hit the "send and mic drop" button before entering any recipients, and then used the same draft to pen an e-mail, even hitting the normal send button would result in the prank e-mail being sent.
There's no word on whether Google will be compensating those affected by the prank, or whether their recipients may now see the funny side of it. At the very least, here's hoping that the next time Google pulls a prank, it doesn't do it with mission critical software used by millions of people.
