On February 13th Gmail will block attachments of Javascript files going forward as Google looks to expand the ever growing security of their services. Gmail already blocks the attachment of certain file types in emails for this very same reason, and those with the .js tag at the end will just be the latest added to the bunch. As of right now it’s still possible to add Javascript attachments to emails, but with February 13th looming just around the corner, any individuals or businesses who may use Gmail to send Javascript files may want to start looking for an alternative way to send the files back and forth between colleagues so they aren’t left without a solution on the day.
Google doesn’t give a detailed explanation beyond the mentioned “security reasons” for blocking Javascript files, but they do highlight that there are numerous alternative methods for sending Javascript files back and forth if users still need to send these legitimately. The word legitimately alludes to part of Google’s reasoning as there must not be very many legitimate reasons for attaching this type of file to an email, and for the remaining few people as a collective whole that do have a need, it’s still entirely possible to share Javascript files through two other Google services which include both Drive and Google Cloud Storage. On top of this, other file sharing and cloud storage services should work as well, so people who do need to transfer them to someone else aren’t left completely without options.
If after February 13th rolls around users are still trying to attach .js files to emails before sending, they will be met with an alert in the attachment link that states the file type has been blocked, and there will be a little “help” link which they can click on that will open up a popup menu with more details and information as to why it was blocked. This information will also be accompanied by other expandable dropdown links which inform the user of why certain email messages with or without attachments get blocked, so they can brush up on other reasons why an email not be allowed to go through if they care to know.