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Microsoft will usher in major changes for millions of email users at the end of this month — and it could leave those who rely on Gmail unable to send or receive messages.
From June 30, Microsoft will no longer allow users to access their Gmail account from Outlook.com. Until now, you've been able to bring together multiple email inboxes into a single window in your web browser.
Introduced in 2019, Microsoft allowed Outlook.com users to add third-party email inboxes to the client, like Gmail, something that will be culled by the end of this month
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Without having to know which email address was used, Outlook.com would let you search across multiple inboxes and send messages from multiple accounts.
Microsoft introduced support for Gmail, alongside other popular Google services like Drive and Google Calendar, into the browser-based version of Outlook.com back in 2019. Starting next month, you'll need to head to the Gmail website to access these.
Microsoft isn't removing support for Google services from the latest version of its Outlook application on Windows 10, Windows 11, or Mac. So those who rely on the desktop app won't notice a difference — it's only those who use Outlook.com that'll notice the shake-up.
If you're subscribed to Microsoft 365, with prices starting from £4.99 a month, you're able to download applications for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, and all other supported platforms with a single login. These apps will continue to work for as long as you're paying the subscription — so switching from Outlook.com and its broken Gmail implementation to a desktop app shouldn't be an issue.
The decision to ditch Gmail support is one of several changes announced by Microsoft.
The Redmond-based company, which debuted an entirely new category of Windows PCs this week, has beefed up security for email users by adopting a tougher standard for logins, known as Modern Authentication. It replaces an older system — Basic Auth — that only requires a username and password to sign into an account.
Using this previous system, anyone with access to your username and password could break into your email. If you rely on the same username-password combination for multiple accounts, hackers can use a data breach from another website to break into your inbox.
For now, it seems like Microsoft isn't forcing you to use two-factor authentication — where you'll need a one-time passcode sent via text message or to approve your login attempt from another app — to access Outlook. However, this remains a useful extra layer of security for those worried about hackers.
David Los, Group Product Manager for Outlook, explained the changes in a blog post: "At Microsoft, our aim is to provide a modern and secure email experience for our users, leveraging the latest technologies to enhance functionality and ease of use.
"When it comes to Outlook, we want to ensure our customers' emails, documents, calendar, and contacts are safeguarded from unauthorized access, tampering or loss."
If you're using a version of Outlook that doesn't support the new login standard, Microsoft says you'll be contacted before the end of this month.
To continue using Outlook in your web browser, you'll need to be running Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge version 79 or newer, Firefox version 78 or newer, Safari version 16 or newer, and Opera version 76 or newer.
An example of the newer Modern Authentication sign in window, Microsoft says it's designed to give the user extra protection and keep them safe
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If you use an iPhone and have noticed Microsoft accounts asking for your password recently, it's likely because these profiles were originally set-up with the Basic Authentication system.
Rounding out the changes, Microsoft has confirmed that its "light" version of the Outlook Web App will no longer be supported after August 19. This version of Outlook was created to continue to allow those with an old browser that's incompatible with the new Outlook.com to check their emails.
Announcing the decision to cull this iteration, Microsoft said: "As we accelerate our security efforts to help better protect our customers, we are retiring the light version of the Outlook web app. This means that after 2024 customers will need to run the latest versions of a supported browser to run Outlook.com."
