Gmail MCP create_draft: URLs wrapped in google.com/url redirects as of July 22 2026

Bug Description

The Gmail MCP create_draft tool is wrapping all URLs in https://www.google.com/url?q= redirect wrappers. This was NOT happening yesterday (July 21) — drafts created then had clean embedded links that recipients could click normally.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Use mcp__claude_ai_Gmail__create_draft with htmlBody containing a simple link: <a href="https://example.com/">Example</a>
2. Open the created draft in Gmail
3. Hover over or inspect the link

Expected Behavior

Link should be https://example.com/

Actual Behavior

Link is https://www.google.com/url?q=https://example.com/&source=gmail&ust=TIMESTAMP&sa=E

Impact

• Links are broken for recipients in China (Google is blocked)
• Links look unprofessional in plaintext fallback
• This affects ALL URL parameters — htmlBody links, body plain text URLs, everything

Additional Context

• This started happening between July 21 and July 22, 2026
• Drafts created July 21 via the same tool had clean links (confirmed by recipients who clicked them)
• Tested with both htmlBody and body (plain text) — both get wrapped
• Tested with simple and complex HTML — both get wrapped
• Google Workspace Enhanced Safe Browsing is OFF (confirmed via admin docs — it's off by default and only affects inbound)
• This is NOT a Gmail setting issue — it's the MCP tool behavior