Alerted on a bug that has erased emails, chat history, labels, folders and all personal settings on Google mail (Gmail), the internet giant has kick started troubleshooting efforts.

With the glitch affecting over 100,000 users, the Gmail help forums were flooded with complaints on February 27.

On one thread, a Gmail Specialist, identified as Michelle, responded, We're looking into this issue right now. I know how important your messages are to you. Thanks for reporting on the forum.

On its Apps Status Dashboard, Google initially said, This issue affects less than .29% of the Google Mail userbase.

The figure was later revised to less than 0.08% of the Google Mail userbase.

Google engineers are working to restore full access. Affected users may be temporarily unable to sign in while we repair their accounts, Google assured.

Hours later, another post informed that the Gmail service has been fixed for a fraction of the affected users.

The latest update said, Google Mail service has already been restored for some users, and we expect a resolution for all users in the near future. Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change.

Media reports suggest that more than 100,000 accounts have been hit by the bug. Affected Gmail users were greeted with a welcome message as if the account was just created when they logged on.

Google Software Apps