The basic HTML view on Gmail, which has pulled us through moments when net connectivity was slow, will be given its final resting place in January 2024, following which ‘Standard’ view is all that you will get.

Gmail’s support page carries the latest update: “You can display Gmail on your browser in Basic HTML view until January 2024. After this date, Gmail automatically changes to Standard view.”

Once the basic HTML version is taken down, Google recommends users to download the Gmail app for Android, iPhone, or iPad to access the service on a smartphone, or use a third-party email client like Outlook or Apple Mail on their computers.

The basic HTML mode is rarely used but the stripped-down Gmail experience was used earlier because it loaded quickly, especially when we had 3G connection. The Standard view was added over 10 years ago and it has helped Google add plenty of new features and functionalities to Gmail.

Though Basic HTML view has been retained while loading Gmail, Google has already done away with the option at the top of the screen that allowed users to “Set basic HTML as default view.”

The company recently killed its Pixel Pass phone upgrade programme, Google Currents, and Nest Secure.