A number of users of the popular Gmail service are now reporting that their accounts have been completely wiped clean. Though Gmail has till now had a relatively clean record when it comes to preserving user data, concerns have been raised in the past over the fact that Google Accounts in themselves are a virtual minefield of information on users’ personal information ranging from email to surfing habits which includes their search history and lots more. A number of critics of Google have cited this as a particularly strong reason to abandon Google offerings altogether since they control and own so much of the user’s data.
In the last 24 hours, up to 500,000 users have reportedly logged in to find their data completely wiped clean, with no records of past emails, chats, or attachments being left in the account whatsoever. In fact, not only has all the data been completely lost, users also report that the account has in fact been reset, complete with the sign up emails which are sent by Gmail itself when you register a new account!
Google has acknowledged the situation and has replied to queries on its forums by stating that the issue is being looked into by its engineers who are hoping to recover the data as soon as possible, assuming it is possible. It also said that only 0.29% of the user base seemed to be affected by this problem, and has given a time frame of approximately 24 hours to complaints as resolution time. Either way, I’m guessing with the large user base Gmail possesses, 0.29% translates into a lot of highly annoyed users!
