Sundar Pichai's Witty Take As Gmail Turns 20: 'Glad It Wasn't An April Fools’ Day Prank'

It has been complete 20 years since Google launched its email service, Gmail, on  April 1, 2004. Mentioning that the company was creating a search-based webmail service in response to a user complaint, Gmail has since come a long way, being used by millions of people and enterprises globally. As Gmail continues to reign as the undisputed king of email, on its 20th anniversary this year, CEO Sundar Pichai reflected on the platform’s remarkable journey, which coincidentally began on April Fool’s Day.

Taking to his X handle, the Google CEO posted a witty message about Gmail completing 20 years and wrote, “Happy 20th birthday, @gmail! Glad it wasn’t an April Fools’ Day prank after all.”

Social media users also reacted to the post and congratulated Pichai on Gmail’s 20 years of launch.

Not many know that Gmail’s launch by the company’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, was actually thought to be an April Fools’ joke. Meanwhile, Google India also shared a video to commemorate the platform’s 20th anniversary; however, it was not without a fun element.

The video clip shows a message that read, “Happy Birthday, Gmail. Celebrating 20 years of this beautiful attachment. PFA – Your gift.”

“Forgot attachment,” the video ends with a funny twist, highlighting the common “mistake” that most Gmail users have been making till now while using the service.

History of Gmail

Initially, Gmail was launched as a free service, boasting just one gigabyte of storage per account, which was enough to store about 13,500 emails. However, at the time of its launch, users couldn’t help but wonder if it was a prank, considering Page and Brin would routinely pull off pranks on people. Little did the world know that it would redefine email communication for years to come. Over time, Gmail revolutionised the way people communicate via e-mail.

Adapting to the changing dynamics and the advent of technology, Google has also transformed the way Gmail works. Recently, it was announced that artificial intelligence would be introduced to Gmail with a “Help Me Write” option to help users craft responses to emails in a short time. Besides announcing new security rules and addressing privacy concerns, Google has also launched many other products after Gmail, including Google Maps, Google Docs, the Chrome browser, the Android operating system, and the acquisition of YouTube.