Oops! 150,000 Gmail accounts cleaned out by Google
by Steven Mostyn - Feb 28 2011, 15:16
You don't need all that email anyway. Image: Google.
Gmail users around the world had their account folders cleaned out by Google over the weekend, which would have been a kindly gesture of efficiency by the search giant had said users actually asked for a burst of housekeeping.
The problem in question reared up out of the email ether on Sunday before promptly wiping old messages, contact information, personal settings, and chat histories from the Gmail accounts of around 150,000 users.
According to Google, which has said it’s currently working hard to rectify the issue, the 150,000 accounts affected by the technical hiccup equate to a mere 0.08 percent of its total Gmail user base.
“Google engineers are working to restore full access,” it advised. “Affected users will be temporarily unable to sign in while we repair their accounts.”
Although that’s likely reassuring for those account holders blissfully unaware of any problems while perusing their bulging mail folders, 150,000 is still a hefty number and perhaps shouldn’t be exploited as an opportunity to remind everyone how big Gmail is.
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