Google adds secret rainbow-themed hack to celebrate Pride
Google employees often march at Pride (JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)
It might not be Easter, but Google has given us all a surprise rainbow-themed Easter egg for Pride month.
The tech company is known for producing heartwarming Google Doodles to celebrate notable people and events, including those important to the LGBT community.
However, this nod to the LGBT community is slightly more subtle, contained within the platform’s spreadsheet software.
The Google float during the WorldPride 2017 (GERARD JULIEN/AFP/Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Google Sheets users discovered a Pride month Easter egg that would turn a dull monochrome spreadsheet into a beautiful rainbow one.
You don’t need to be a tech genius – or even someone who really knows how to use spreadsheet software – to benefit from the hack.
Simply type each letter of the word ‘pride’ into each column, starting with ‘p’ in cell A1, and press enter.
It’s so pretty (Google)
Be warned, if you remove one letter from the word the beautiful paint job will disappear.
However, if you want to use the spreadsheet to do actual work, simply hiding the row will let you use the spreadsheet in peace while keeping the fabulous colour scheme.
The reaction to the Easter egg has been positive, with one person taking to Twitter to write: “now I’m coming up with any excuse to use a spreadsheet.”
Google often produces ‘doodles’ in support of LGBT causes (Google)
However, not all of the tech giant’s attempts at reaching out to the LGBT community have been so successful.
Related: Designer gives the Pride flag an inclusive makeover
YouTube, the popular video-sharing platform owned by Google, recently uploaded their annual Pride month video that showed how the LGBT community uses the platform.
YouTube posted their ‘Proud to Create’ video on June 7 (YouTube)
However, within two days the video was flooded with dislikes and anti-LGBT comments.
Many of the negative comments criticised the idea of Pride month in general, suggesting that heterosexual people deserve their own straight pride month.
Other commenters hit out at LGBT people as inherently indecent or not safe for children, in a very familiar homophobic trope.
However, many of the negative comments were from pro-LGBT people, who used the comment section to complain about what they saw as hypocrisy from the platform.
YouTube has faced harsh criticism for allegedly removing adverts – and therefore income – from videos that explicitly mention LGBT content in the title.
YouTube has denied claims that videos would be marked ineligible for adverts based on LGBT content in the title.
