Google to shut down Gmail feature impacting blind users in California.
According to a foreign news agency, Google has reportedly decided to discontinue the HTML Basic View functionality feature for Gmail users from January 2024.
The company claims that from January, Gmail will only be accessible in its normal form.
Note that HTML BasicView2007 is the Gmail design that people often use on slow Wi-Fi. Although the mod doesn’t include common view features like chat boxes, spell check, or contact import, blind technology expert Prateek Patel warns that the loss of this function will be a major setback for people who are blind or Partially blind.
According to him, many blind people who use this version of Gmail will be confused and unhappy.
Thanks to HTML View, blind users can use the screen more easily. Although blind people can now use the standard interface, many people still prefer the plain HTML version.
It’s not that there are no standard interfaces, Prateek Patel said. However, some people may not choose to use this mode.
