If you use Google+ and Gmail, Google is about to open your email account to a whole new level of spam. A new feature rolling out over the next couple of days makes it possible for any Google+ user to email you, as long as they follow you on Google+—they don't need to know your actual email address, and you don't even have to follow them back. And to make it even worse, Google took the Facebook approach by turning on the new feature by default.
Fun, right? Not so much. I've already got this new "feature" in my inbox and the first thing I did was turn it off. Today, I'm going to show you how to do the same thing.
But first, let's cover the basics about how this new "email via Google+" feature works.
The good news
Even though any Google+ user can crowd your inbox now, they won't know your actual email address unless you reply to their message. Plus, Google+ users who aren't in your Circles (read: you aren't following) can only email you once without your approval. When someone from your Circles emails you, it shows up in your Gmail's "Primary" inbox tab. If the message is from some random Google+ stranger, the email gets filtered into your "Social" inbox tab.
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