Kutch-based ex-Googler owned Google.com domain for a minute.
Ex-Googler Sanmay Ved was lucky enough to grab Google.com domain, but only for a minute. In a detailed post on LinkedIn, the former Google employee said he was learning more about the Google domains interface and that’s when he discovered the availability of Google.com domain.
To his surprise, the most trafficked domain was available for just $12. He went on to add the domain to his cart expecting some error, but the transaction went through. After completing the purchase, Sanmay received two emails which is not the norm when you book domains. Though he didn’t share contents of the emails, they do relate to the Google.com domain.
He adds, “Additionally, my Google Search Console (aka Google Webmaster Tools) was auto-updated with webmaster related messages for the Google.com domain which actually means ownership was transferred to me.” Even though the purchase was successful and his credit card was charged for the same, he later received an order cancellation email from Google Domains. He explains, “Google could cancel my purchase given the registration service used by me (aka Google Domains) belonged to Google.” In his LinkedIn post, he says the domain shows currently unavailable and he has already reported the incident to Google security and Google has acknowledged the incident. Had it not been in Google’s powers, the Kutch based ex-Googler would have been a proud owner of Google’s domain.