Good news, security lovers! Google just announced that Gmail will be all encrypted all the time. More specifically, every single email you send or receive will use an encrypted HTTPS connection, regardless of which device you’re using and which network. Even public Wi-Fi is ok.
This is an incremental improvement. While Gmail has offered HTTPS encryption since it launched, it’s been the default since 2010. Now, however, it’s the only option, and it’s more robust than ever. Not only are your messages encrypted between Gmail and your computer, but they’re also encrypted as they travel around Google’s data centres. The company also uses top of the line encryption technology so you can feel even safer.
All that said, the NSA is still out there. So are all the hackers. And while encryption will protect you from certain kinds of attacks, it’s not an excuse to throw common sense out the window. Seriously, keep on your toes. It’s still wild out there. [Gmail Blog]