Google's April Fools' joke upsets users

In the spirit of April Fools' Day, Google thought up a plan to prank Gmail users. Instead, Google seemed to prank itself after receiving much backlash from people upset by the joke.

Gmail, Google's email service, made a prank blog post about a new "mic drop" feature for message threads:

"Email's great, but sometimes you just wanna hit the eject button. Like those heated threads at work, when everyone's wrong except you (obviously). Or those times when someone's seeking group approval, but your opinion is the only one that matters... Today, Gmail is making it easier to have the last word on any email with Mic Drop. Simply reply to any email using the new 'Send + Mic Drop' button. Everyone will get your message, but that's the last you'll ever hear about it."

Get the last word with Gmail Mic Drop https://t.co/v3wbrqglOZ pic.twitter.com/PRfgLO9Mzw

— Gmail (@gmail) March 31, 2016

The joke was not received well by all Gmail users. Some considered it a nuisance, others a disruption and Google received angry criticism on its blog and social media, as well.

Is this new gmail drop mic "feature" for April Fools? Sigh. #getoffmylawn

— David Parker Brown (@ARdpb) March 31, 2016

Hate this stupid "Send and Drop Mic" #AprilFools gimmick in @Gmail. Accidentally sent mid-draft in professional message. #NOTCOOL @Google

— Adam S. Brooks (@adambrooks) March 31, 2016

I sent an angry feedback note to gmail about the stupid April Fools joke on the gmail UI today. God, I hate being dependent on this.

— zooko (@zooko) April 1, 2016

Google did not expect this kind of bad press and issued an apology shortly after: "Well, it looks like we pranked ourselves this year. Due to a bug, the Mic Drop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs. We’re truly sorry."