Gmail will be available offline for Chrome users, here’s what it can do

• Native offline support rolls out with Chrome 61.
  
• The new feature supports search, write, and delete even after losing internet connectivity.
  
• The new feature only works with Google Chrome browser.
  

Google is rolling out a new feature for Gmail web users. With this, Gmail will have native offline support in Google Chrome browser. So, users can even use email-specific features with or without internet connectivity. The update is part of the Chrome 61 update and needs to be enabled in the settings menu as it isn't switched on by default.

Earlier Google supported offline mode through a separate Gmail Offline Chrome app. This will be rendered obsolete with the native support now rolling out. The offline feature will work just like the Gmail mobile app with features to support search, write and even delete emails without WiFi or data connectivity. All the activities performed offline will be automatically synced as soon as internet connectivity is regained.

In order to use native offline support, the Chrome browser needs to be updated to the latest version and offline mode needs to be enabled. To use the new offline feature one needs to ensure that they are using the new Gmail that was launched last month. To enable the native offline support, go to Settings >Offline > Enable Offline Mail.

Some of the new options include, options to view the amount of storage that Gmail is using in offline mode, and many more. The new security settings have options to choose whether to keep data offline on the computer, delete it when the user logs out, which ensures privacy for shared computers.

The offline feature only works with the Chrome Browser and needs to be enabled by the system administrator for G-Suite users.