• by Ray Schultz , April 30, 2021

Gmail has added an “external badge” to notify participants when someone outside their organization is in an email thread. This is in addition to the existing external recipient warning banner, which is displayed when responding to emails sent from outside of your organization,” according to a Google Workspace update. 

The “External” label will be visible “on Gmail on the web and Android devices, and Gmail,” it continues. “We will provide an update when this feature becomes available on iOS.”

There will be a gradual rollout, up to 15 days for feature visibility, Google adds. This began on Thursday. 

The yellow “label and the reply warning banner and label are helpful reminders for users to treat external messages with caution,” Google states. “This can help avoid unintentionally sharing confidential information with recipients outside of their organization.” 

There is no action required of end users. “When enabled by your admin, you'll see ‘External’ label and warning banner when interacting with or replying to email threads with recipients outside your organization or contacts,” Google advises.