It’s April Fools again and as usual, Google is up to their usual tricks with a series of April Fools jokes. This year, however, it appears one of Google’s ‘jokes’ aren’t exactly going as planned due to the growing outrage at their latest Gmail ’mic drop’ gag.
As Google puts it: “Simply reply to any email using the new ‘Send + Mic Drop’ button. Everyone will get your message, but that’s the last you’ll ever hear about it. Yes, even if folks try to respond, you won’t see it.”
How ‘Mic Drop’ Works
The joke actually works: By simply pressing the ‘Send and Mic Drop’ button (conveniently located right next to the regular send button) the recipient will receive a GIF of a minion dropping a microphone and any replies from that recipient will not show up in your inbox (it goes into the ‘All Mail’ tab which won’t alert you to it arriving).
Users on the Google support forums are not happy, with several complaining about accidentally hitting the ‘mic drop’ button and getting onto a spot of bother, some claim to have even lost their jobs:
How do I remove the mic drop button? It is simple torture, having it there. I can’t find a settings option to remove the mic drop button. It is an accident waiting to happen.
Interviewing for three months – gone with a click! This mic drop is perhaps the most stupid thing you could possibly come up with. I have been interviewing with this company for 3 months now and …
Please Add: Opt Me Out of Your Stupid April Fool’s Pranks Forever Option.
Mic Drop is a terrible idea. Google, turn it off! I use Gmail to communicate with people who I care about. I trust Google with all of my emails …
Send and Drop Mic – Accidentally hit this new “mic drop” button halfway through composing a professional email. Dying to remove this thing. Any help appreciated!
Google pulls ‘Mic Drop’ Prank
Google later updated their announcement blog to include the following:
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.
See the full announcement here
