If you’ve ever hit the send button after writing an e-mail while under the influence only to feel that immediate pit in your stomach called regret, then a new Google feature may be just what you need.
The Internet search giant has added a feature to Gmail called Mail Goggles, which allows users to take a closer look at an e-mail while preventing the sending of messages to significant others, friends and bosses in the late hours of the night. The feature is only available at night and on the weekend, according to the Official Gmail Blog.
Jon Perlow, a Gmail engineer who wrote the code for Goggles, said he developed the feature after his own bad experiences in sending e-mail and text messages in the wee hours of the night.
“Sometimes I send messages I shouldn’t send like the time I told that girl I had a crush on her over text message. Or the time I sent that late night e-mail to my ex-girlfriend that we should get back together,” Perlow wrote. “Gmail can’t always prevent you from sending messages you might later regret, but today we’re launching a new Labs feature I wrote called Mail Goggles which may help.”
“When you enable Mail Goggles, it will check that you’re really sure you want to send that late night Friday e-mail,” Perlow added. “And what better way to check than by making you solve a few simple math problems after you click send to verify you’re in the right state of mind?”
Perlow isn’t joking. Users who activate Mail Goggles must first solve a group of simple math problems in a short period before hitting send. The simple math problems are a safeguard for those who may not be in the right state of mind to send e-mail.
Of course, Mail…