Google apologises after April Fool gif gaffe gets Gmail users griping
Google has apologised and removed an April Fool’s Gmail button which sent a comical animated gif of a Minion dropping a mic. The tech giant’s prank misfired after reports that users were getting into trouble at work for sending the message to close down an email thread. It removed the button, which appeared beside Gmail’s normal send button, after a flurry of complaints. "It looks like we pranked ourselves this year,“ Google said in a statement.
Due to a bug, the MicDrop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs. We’re truly sorry.
The message was intended to show that the sender was ending a conversation but some users said they accidentally sent it to bosses, clients, and other people who might not appreciate a mic-dropping minion. One writer complained they had lost their job as a result of inadvertently hitting the button. Another said they used the button while applying to a human resources department at a company where they were looking for work. A third said they accidentally sent an important business email to 30 recipients without realising. "I tried to resend it without that, but it was too late. Is there any way I can undo my mic drop feature?” the user pleaded.
Unfortunately some of my very intelligent friends are senior engineers in Google. I almost picked up the phone and shouted at them because of this stupid creation made me sound so rude to one important customer when I made a mistake to click this stupid button.
One frustrated Google user
Technology