Gmail's updated desktop interface has continued to be a very welcome change since it went live late last month, and now it's being updated with another new feature that I'm sure many users will be thrilled to have – a native offline mode.
First spotted by 9to5Google, you can now use certain Gmail features even without a data/internet connection as long as you're running Chrome 61 or later.
To turn this on, navigate to Settings, click on the new Offline tab, and check the box next to "Enable offline mail." Once this is done, you can choose to store emails for 7, 30, or 90 days, whether or not you want to download attachments, and choose between one of two security modes.
Those two modes are described by Google as follows:
- Keep offline data on my computer – Data stored on your device will not be deleted when signing out of your Google account or when changing your password. To delete account data from your device disable offline mail and save changes.
- Remove offline data from my computer – Data will need to be resynced to your computer when logging back into Gmail. It may take a few hours to resync the mailbox.
With offline mail turned on, you'll be able to compose new emails, search for existing ones, and archive/delete others to slowly achieve inbox zero. This functionality is rolling out to all Gmail users now, so be sure to keep an eye out for it.
Gmail's massive redesign is now live: Here's a look at the new features
