Google adds a new 'Email via Google+' feature to Gmail

Google announced a new Gmail and Google+ feature for consumers that could lead to more unwanted emails from strangers. However, the feature will be turned off by default for Gmail business accounts. The split shows how Google remains relatively conservative with its paying Gmail customers, even as it speeds up integration among its free services. 

Announcing the new feature Gmail product manager David Nachum said in a blog post that a user’s Gmail contacts will be kept up to date and “Gmail will suggest your Google+ connections as recipients when you are composing a new email.”

Google claims that the new feature will be useful to users who have added each other on Google+ circles, but are yet to exchange their email addresses.

The search engine giant claims that your email address won’t be visible to the recipient of the email. “Your email address isn’t visible to a Google+ connection unless you send that person an email, and likewise, that person’s email address isn’t visible to you unless they send you an email”, notes Nachum.

Users will be alerted by email when the feature rolls out in the coming days. Though they can adjust their settings to determine who on the social network they want to receive emails from, by default, all Google+ users will be able to send emails to any other user with Gmail.

The interweaving of Google+ into other products has prompted a wave of backlash. YouTube users--including cofounder Jawed Karim--were outraged when its commenting system required users to link their Google+ accounts. Google Reader, the company's beloved RSS reader with a cult following, was shuttered last year, and many believed the move was motivated to bring users looking for news to the search giant's social network.