Google is integrating package tracking features into Gmail just in time for the holiday shopping (shipping?) season. And really, it feels like this couldn’t have come at a better time. Though let’s be honest, it would have been nice if Gmail had this feature years ago. As with many things Google does across its products, the new Gmail package tracking feature is all about convenience.
Letting you more quickly see important details about shipments you may have in the pipeline. Now that it’s November, many people are going to start buying and shipping out gifts to family and friends in anticipation for the holidays next month. This new feature will let you stay on top of those shipments with a quick glance.
Avoiding any pitfalls of scrolling through the inbox endlessly looking for an email with shipping information.
The Gmail package tracking feature will auto-scan for tracking numbers
Here’s how the feature works. The app will automatically scan for tracking numbers and surface those emails at the top of your inbox.
With the new feature in place, if the app finds any tracking numbers, then the associated emails are pushed to the top of your inbox so it’s essentially the first thing you see. While you still might want more in-depth information, the tracking info listed will give you the most necessary stuff. Like whether or not the item has shipped, and when its estimated time of arrival is.
There’s no actual need to open the email but doing so does give you a little more information. Like the status of the shipment, and of course links to track the package or look at order details. Google says this is starting to roll out over the next few weeks so users should start to see its availability soon.
The feature is opt-in
Not all users are going to want this feature scanning for tracking numbers. Which is why Google is making it opt-in. Once the feature goes live, users will see an alert card pop up the next time they open their Gmail app. This will inform the user that Gmail can track packages for them, with options to allow or avoid the feature for the time being.
It’ll also be possible to enable and disable this feature later on from inside Gmail settings. Google says this will work with “most” US shipping carriers.
2022-11-03 15:13:11