Google pranks itself as an April Fool goes terribly wrong

Users found themselves sending inappropriate emails.

Published 1st Apr 2016

Google is known for coming up with some great April Fools jokes over the years, including a treasure hunt on Google Maps and the Pac Man game, however this year's joke has gone too far.

The multinational technology company was forced to withdraw its latest joke a few hours ago as it caused a headache for Gmail users around the world.

The Gmail Mic Drop was meant to add a bit of fun to your emails. In their blog they said, "Gmail is making it easier to have the last word on any email with Mic Drop".

By clicking on the Mic Drop send button you would have the final say. Your email would be sent to the recipients, but even if they replied you would never receive their response.

To warn the recipient that they shouldn't expect a response Gmail would also add in a cheeky little minion animated gif.

Unfortunately with the two send buttons next to each other some people didn't realise and some inappropriate emails were sent.

One user on Google's Gmail Help Forum complained he had lost his job as a freelance writer. Allan Pashby said he didn't receive his editor's comments on a piece he submitted as he had inadvertently used the Mic Drop send button. His editor was annoyed that he hadn't responded and also took offense at the animation.

Another user took to Twitter to show how the little minion gif had popped up on a serious email about someone's funeral.

Google have now updated their blog with a message to users saying: "UPDATE: Well, it looks like we pranked ourselves this year. Due to a bug, the Mic Drop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs. We’re truly sorry. The feature has been turned off. If you are still seeing it, please reload your Gmail page."