Gmail’s next free update will make it easier to track your deliveries

Gmail is getting a free update that will make it much easier for you to keep track of the deliveries you make this holiday season and in the future.

We’ve been there before: you pick up a few of this year’s best Black Friday deals and then you realize you need to keep a track of everything. Some are gifts you need to intercept in case someone you live with gets a peek at what’s coming their way, others are items you need to make sure will arrive by a certain date. To watch everything you usually need to dig through a heap of emails and use tracking codes for a wide variety of shipping companies – it’s tedious if nothing else.

Google is looking to simplify the whole process this year with a new Gmail update that will allow you to track deliveries in the app. The new package tracking feature is available across most major US shipping carriers and will give you an at-a-glance view of your parcel’s delivery status.

To stand out in your ever-growing stack of emails, the delivery notice will be given a new tag that gives you the latest update like “Your item is on its way” or a more specific message like “Arriving Wed, Dec 21.” If you open the email, you’ll get a more in-depth look at your package's delivery status; you’ll be able to see when the order was placed, when it was shipped, and when it is predicted to arrive.