How to Disable Profile Pictures in Gmail

How to Disable (Other) Profile Pictures in Gmail

A short while ago changed Gmail to display the profile photos/pictures of the people who send you email and whom you chat with. I don't like this feature, since sometimes I receive emails from online services, and when it shows up with a random person's face I've never met, it is unsettling. Here is how to disable the "People Widget" in your Gmail.

Go to: Gmail -> Settings -> General -> People Widget -> Hide the people widget.

Simple huh? Well, it is subtle and took me some time to find. Heck, I was able to google it a few weeks ago but then today I couldn't find the answer on Google no matter what I tried. I wouldn't have known the option was there if I hadn't already found the solution.

What they really need is a whitelist option, since there are a few people I actually would like to see this People Widget used for, but for 95% of all the email I get, I really never want to see these people.

(On a personal note, I hate Facebook's outright oppression of anonymity online. I just hope Google never goes that route.)