Gmail New Update Lets You Turn Phone Numbers and Addresses Into Links

This week Google has added the possibility of users converting texts such as phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses that you get in your e-mail into interactive hyperlinks. This feature works on both Android and iOS platforms.

This feature was due to come since it looks like it was obviously a necessary thing that should have been a basic function. Users will no longer waste time to copy and paste the information from that email to a website.

It’s 2017 and Google Finally Introduces a Basic Feature

How didn’t Google think of introducing this feature earlier? Considering Gmail is a very popular email service, we think they’ve figured it out for some time that this was a necessary feature.

Many of you might wonder this and the answer is: patents! Yes, Apple appears to have had the patent for converting text into hyperlink for quite some time and rendered other companies unable to promote this feature in their software. This is why Google hasn’t added the feature yet and why Android suddenly removed their feature from their OS due patent issues. But the patent claimed by Apple finished in 2016 and we’re now the happy owners of this ‘information converted to hyperlink‘ feature in Google Mail.

We’re not pointing fingers as it’s not Apple’s fault for working within the system, but many of us wonder why this basic feature should be patented and not free for all companies.

The news is great for users but not for mail developers who will have to work their magic around auto-formatting issues such as transforming a number ID into a telephone number or other cases.

How is this Feature Going to Work?

If you click on an address link you will be redirected on Google Maps, clicking or tapping on an email address will send you to the ‘compose an email’ screen by using the default email that you have. If you click on a phone number from your mobile device you will be able to start a call using your default app.

You will be able to use this feature right now or in a few days until it propagates to all Android and iOS devices that are compatible with Gmail and Inbox by Gmail.