How to stop strangers from emailing you via Google+

Another bold move from Google to takeover Facebook connections. Pretty soon you won’t need to know anymore someone’s Gmail address to send an email, as the search giant is preparing a new feature that will allow users to simply type the name of a person in the “To” field and if that person has a Google+ profile, you’ll be able to send them an email.

Google says that the new feature will rollout pretty soon, once it goes live, you’ll notice a new option in Gmail named “Email via Google+”. And here is where you have to be smart about it, Google by default will let anyone to send you emails, so if you don’t want strangers with a Google+ account send anything, you’ll have to manually opt out, by changing the option to “No one” or by limiting who can contact you, e.g., Extended circles or Circles.

It’s really important to note that this new feature won’t reveal your actual email address to anyone, unless they already know it or you decide to reply to that person. Also the search giant stated that emails from Google+ profiles that aren’t in your circle will be redirected in the “Social” tab of your inbox.

Although Google is trying hard to compete in the social space with Facebook and other social networks, the company clearly shows that is willing to go the extra mile even though users may feel different about it. This new move certainly is raising privacy concerns among users who already feel their inbox is no longer private. The company will start updating Gmail accounts in the days that follow, but users won’t be able to send emails to Google+ users without an email address if not until a later date.