No, Google didn't tell 2.5 billion Gmail users to change passwords

In a statement, Google said, “We want to reassure our users that Gmail’s protections are strong and effective.”

Last week, several reports falsely claimed that Google had issued a critical security warning to its 2.5 billion Gmail users, urging them to update their passwords due to a data breach. However, Google confirmed in a statement on Monday that no such warning was issued.

Google has not issued any critical security warning to its 2.5 billion Gmail users.

“We want to reassure our users that Gmail’s protections are strong and effective. Several inaccurate claims surfaced recently that incorrectly stated that we issued a broad warning to all Gmail users about a major Gmail security issue. This is entirely false,” Google said in the statement.

“While it’s always the case that phishers are looking for ways to infiltrate inboxes, our protections continue to block more than 99.9% of phishing and malware attempts from reaching users.”

“Security is such an important item for all companies, all customers, all users — we take this work incredibly seriously. Our teams invest heavily, innovate constantly, and communicate clearly about the risks and protections we have in place. It’s crucial that conversation in this space is accurate and factual,” the statement added.

What is phishing?

Phishing is a type of online scam where attackers steal your personal or financial information. They do this by sending fake emails, messages, ads, or websites that look like ones you trust, such as your bank or a social media site. These messages might ask you to share private information, click a link, or download something. They can also pretend to be someone you know, like a friend or coworker, to make the message seem real.