G Suite Updates Blog

Less secure app turn-off suspended until further notice

March 30, 2020

Last December, we announced that we’d be turning off less secure app (LSA) access to G Suite accounts, and that you should migrate to OAuth authentication instead. The first phase of the LSA turn-down was scheduled for June 15, 2020. As many organizations deal with the impact of COVID-19 and are now focused on supporting a remote workforce, we want to minimize potential disruptions for customers unable to complete migrations in this timeframe.

As a result, we are suspending the LSA turn-off until further notice. All previously announced timeframes no longer apply.

This applies to all categories of applications and protocols outlined in our original blog post, including Apple iOS Mail (whether syncing through IMAP or Google Sync). We’ll announce new timelines on the G Suite Updates blog at a later date.

Despite these timing adjustments, Google does not recommend the use of any application that does not support OAuth. We recommend that you switch to using OAuth authentication whenever possible for your organization. OAuth helps protect your account by helping us identify and prevent suspicious login attempts, and allows us to enforce G Suite admin-defined login policies, such as the use of security keys. See our original blog post for details and instructions on migrating to OAuth.

Getting started

Admins: No action required. However, we do recommend switching to OAuth authentication. See our original blog post for details on migrating to OAuth.
End users: No end user impact.
Developers: Update your app to use OAuth 2.0 as soon as possible.

Create pointers to any file or folder in Google Drive with shortcuts

March 26, 2020

What’s changing

Last year, we announced a beta for shortcuts in Google Drive. This feature is now generally available and has started rolling out to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts.

Shortcuts in Drive make it easier to organize content and point users to relevant information and files across various drives.

Who’s impacted

Admins, end users, and developers

Why you’d use it

Shortcuts are pointers to content that can be stored in another folder or drive, a shared drive, or an individual user's “My Drive.”

For example, Paul, a marketing manager, creates a “Marketing Strategy” document and shares it with the sales team. Greta, the sales manager, can now create a shortcut to the document in the “Sales” shared drive, enabling everyone on the sales team to quickly and easily access the file.

Additional details

Shortcut visibility and sharing permissions
Shortcuts are visible to anyone who has access to the folder or drive containing the shortcut. Even if someone can see the shortcut, however, they can only open it if they have the appropriate access to the original file or folder.

Simplifying how files and folders appear in multiple locations
In order to create a consistent experience for managing and viewing reference files across Drive, we’ve changed the “Add to My Drive” option to “Add shortcut to Drive.”

Changes to Drive’s folder structure and sharing model starting September 30
Starting September 30, 2020, it will no longer be possible to place a file in multiple folders in My Drive, including via the Drive API. Going forward, every file will live in a single location.

After September 30, 2020, all files already living in multiple locations in My Drive will gradually be migrated to shortcuts.

No admin or end user action is required. We recommend developers read more about this and other Drive API changes on the Cloud blog.

Getting started

Admins: No action required.
End users: This feature is available by default. Use our Help Center to learn more about using shortcuts in Google Drive.
Developers: Use this article in the Help Center to learn more about creating and managing shortcuts in Google Drive. To learn more about the upcoming changes to the Drive folder structure and sharing model, see this article on the Cloud blog.

Rollout pace

Drive Web

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout starting on March 26, 2020
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout starting on April 15, 2020

Drive Android/iOS

Gradual rollout starting on March 26, 2020. Requires app version 2.20.10 and up for Android and 4.2020.08 and up for iOS

Drive File Stream

This feature is already available and requires app version 37.0 and up

Backup and Sync

This feature is already available and requires app version 3.46 and up

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Roadmap

This feature was listed as an upcoming G Suite release.

Hangouts Meet improvements for remote learning

March 19, 2020

What’s changing

We recently extended Hangouts Meet premium features to all G Suite customers through July 1, 2020 to support employees, educators, and students as they move to work and learn remotely.

To improve the remote learning experience for teachers and students using Hangouts Meet, we’re making several improvements:

Only meeting creators and calendar owners can mute or remove other participants in a meeting
Meeting participants will not be able to re-join nicknamed meetings once the final participant has left

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why it’s important

We hope these added controls and improvements will enhance Hangouts Meet for our Education users.

Additional details

Improved meeting control features: 'mute' and 'remove' For our Education customers, only the meeting creator, Calendar event owner, or person who creates a meeting on an in-room hardware device will be allowed to mute or remove other participants in a meeting. This ensures a teacher, as a meeting creator or Calendar event owner, can't be removed or muted by students participating in the event.

Check out our Help Center to learn how to assign meeting creation privileges to teachers and staff members. We recommend that you assign these privileges to the organizational units (OUs) that contain your faculty and staff members.

Improved teacher controls for nicknamed meetings Participants will not be able to re-join a meeting after the final participant has left if:

The meeting was created using a short link like g.co/meet/nickname
The meeting was created at meet.google.com by entering a meeting nickname in the "Join or start a meeting” field
The meeting was created in the Meet app by entering a nickname in the “Meeting code” field

This means if the teacher is the last person to leave these types of meetings, students cannot join later without the teacher.

We’ve also heard from some admins that they don’t want students to be able to create meetings. To do so, use this Help Center article to assign meeting creation privileges to teachers and staff only.

Additional resources for getting started with Hangouts Meet
Visit our Help Center to learn more about using Meet with low bandwidth and tips for training teachers and students.

Getting started

Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about assigning meeting creation privileges to users in your domain.

End Users: No action is required.

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: These features have started rolling out and should be available to all G Suite for Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education customers within 2-3 weeks.

Availability

Available to G Suite for Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education customers
Not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Enterprise, G Suite Business and G Suite for Nonprofits customers

Resources

New interface for domain management in the Admin console

March 12, 2020

Quick launch summary

We’ve updated the interface you use to manage your primary domain, secondary domains, and domain aliases. When you go to Admin console > Domains > Manage domains, you may notice:

An updated interface with more complete information and descriptions of items and domain state.
New grouped action buttons which make it easier to see and select the action you want to take, such verifying domains, changing your primary domain, setting up MX records, and more.
A new side panel which shows information about domains registered through Google, enabling you to quickly see and manage renewals and advanced DNS settings.

Getting started

Admins: Find domain management at Admin console > Domains > Manage domains. Use our Help Center to learn more about how to add and manage domains in G Suite.
End users: There is no end user impact.

The new domain management interface in the Admin console

The old domain management interface in the Admin console

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on Mar 12, 2020.

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

Resources

G Suite Admin Help: Add or change domains
G Suite Admin Help: Verify your domain

Sort and filter cells by text or fill color in Google Sheets

March 11, 2020

Quick launch summary

We’ve added two additional parameters to filter and sort cells by in Google Sheets:

Text color
Fill (background) color

Along with sorting by values and conditions, these filters make it easier and faster to find and surface relevant data in Sheets. This feature will be available on mobile and web.

Getting started

Admins: No admin action required for this feature.

End users: This feature will be available by default. To use this feature, select Filter > Filter by Color and then select “Fill color” or “Text color”. Matching cells will be displayed at the top of the range. Visit the Help Center to learn more. Use our Help Center to learn more about sorting and filtering data in Sheets.

Filtering by fill color, then text color.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 11, 2020
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 23, 2020

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Help: Sort & filter your data

Important changes to less secure apps and account recovery management in the Admin console

March 11, 2020

What’s changing

We’re making some updates to how you manage less secure app (LSA) settings and account recovery (AR) settings in the Admin console. This is part of a wider migration of our Admin console pages to a simplified and more streamlined experience, and will affect the sections at Admin console > Security > Settings > Less Secure Apps and Admin console > Security > Settings > Account Recovery. In those sections you may notice:

An updated interface, which reorganizes the settings to make them easier to find and change.
A new system to apply group-based policies in these areas. As a result of this change, existing settings will be migrated to the new system. See "Additional details" below for more information.

Who’s impacted

Admins

Why it’s important

The interface updates will make security settings more findable and scannable, reducing the number of clicks it takes to manage these settings. The new group-based policy system is the same one used in other areas of the Admin console and so should be more familiar and intuitive than the legacy system. The new system allows for multiple group based policies to be applied in a single UI view, and makes it possible to manage policies exclusively using groups, instead of a combination of OU-based policy with group-based exceptions.

Additional details

As part of migrating LSA and AR pages to the new UI, we will migrate any currently applied group-based policies to the new groups-based system. This migration will have no functional impact for most customers.

However, for a very small number of organizations (specifically those that currently have group based policies for LSA and AR applied at child-OU levels,) this transition may impact your existing settings. We will email the primary admin at affected domains with more details on how we will do the transition, and instructions for how to prepare. If you don’t receive an email, no action is required.

Getting started

Admins: Existing policies will be migrated to the new group-based policy system automatically unless you’re notified by email (see “Additional details” above). Visit the Help Center to learn more about using groups to manage Admin console settings, controlling access to LSAs, or setting up account recovery for users.

End users: There is no end-user impact unless admins change settings applied to them.

Before

After

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 11, 2020.

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

Resources

G Suite Admin Help: Customize access to G Suite services using access groups
G Suite Admin Help: Control access to less secure apps
G Suite Admin Help: Set up password recovery for users
G Suite Updates Blog: Use groups to control more G Suite apps and settings

Set custom table ranges for charts in Google Sheets

March 11, 2020

What’s changing

We’re improving the way data is suggested and how data is selected when creating a chart in Google Sheets. It’s now easier to locate and select the data you need when creating a dashboard over a dataset with slicers, pivot tables, charts, and more.

Who’s impacted

End users

Why you’d use it

When creating reports in Sheets, it’s common to create multiple charts from the same data table, but using different column ranges. Previously, all data ranges on a table would be used when creating a chart. Now, you’ll be able to select which columns to use for the chart axis and series. This allows you to quickly customize your charts so that they display the most relevant data.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin action required for this feature.

End users: This feature will be available by default. In the chart editor, you can select a column as the X-axis and under “Series” you can select additional columns to populate your chart.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 10, 2020.
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 30, 2020

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google accounts

Create and use multiple signatures in Gmail

March 10, 2020

Update March 24, 2020: We've had to delay the rollout of this feature. Rapid Release will now begin rollout on April 8th with Scheduled Release rollout planned to begin on April 22nd. Both will still follow a gradual rollout pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility).

Quick launch summary

It’s now possible to use multiple signatures in Gmail. Multiple signatures give you the flexibility to use different signatures for different situations such as:

Communicating across teams, organizations, or products
Communicating across languages
Using different default signatures for new emails and replies, and more.

Getting started

End users: This feature will be available by default. To create multiple signatures, in Gmail go to Settings (gear icon) > Settings > General. Then, scroll down to “Signature” and select “Create New” to enter multiple signatures. To use the additional signatures, open the signature menu in the compose action toolbar to switch signatures. Visit the Help Center to learn more about multiple signatures in Gmail.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Help: Create a Gmail signature

Experience the new Google Groups, launching in beta

March 9, 2020

Update

March 30, 2020: We're no longer accepting beta applications. Please stay tuned for an announcement when the new Groups interface becomes generally available.

What’s changing

Later this year, we’ll replace the current Google Groups interface with a new experience. Starting today, you can sign up to try the new experience in beta, giving your organization early access to the new UI and a head start on the migration from classic Groups. Use this form to apply for the beta.

Before applying, please carefully consider the “Additional details” below. Some features that currently exist in Groups will not be available in the beta. If your organization uses those features often, you may want to wait to try new Groups.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it

The new Groups experience features a modern, fresh look and controls that are streamlined, intuitive, and consistent with other G Suite tools like Gmail. Participation in the beta will allow you to check out the new interface as soon as possible, provide feedback to Google, and prepare your users for future migration.

It’s important to note that we’re continuing to improve on the new Groups experience and some features that currently exist in classic Groups will not be available in the beta.

Specifically, users in the new Groups beta won’t have access to the following features:

Collaborative inboxes
Tags and categories
Mobile browser experience for new Groups
Welcome messages above group conversations
Accessing moderated messages

For the complete list of features that will not be available in beta, see our Help Center.

Users will still be able to access features not available in beta features at any time by reverting back to classic Groups. To do so, you can click on the gear at the top right of the page and select “Visit classic Google Groups.” When opted into beta, users can switch between the beta version of Groups and Classic Groups as often as needed. If you feel this will be confusing or disruptive, however, you may not want to apply for the beta.

Reverting back to Classic groups from the New Groups beta

Reverting back to the New Groups beta from Classic Groups

Visit our Help Center for more information on the features available in the new Groups beta.

Additional details

We’ll roll out the new Groups experience in three stages:

Getting started

Admins:

End users:

If your organization is accepted into the beta, you’ll automatically be transitioned to the new UI. You can revert back to classic Groups at any time.

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

Resources

Fix images to a certain location on a page in Google Docs

March 9, 2020

Quick launch summary

In Google Docs, you can now position an image in a fixed place, ensuring it stays in a certain spot on the page and is not disrupted by text and other elements.

We’ve also added a new sidebar where you can quickly access other image formatting options such as size, rotation, and brightness and contrast settings.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.

End users: This feature will be available by default. To position an image relative to a page, select the image and from the menu bar below it, select “Fix position on page”. To open the “Image options” sidebar, select the overflow menu (three dot), followed by “All image options”. To learn more about formatting images in Google Docs, see this article in our Help Center.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Help: Insert or delete images & videos

Enroll security keys on more devices

March 6, 2020

What’s changing

We’re making it easier to enroll security keys on Android and MacOS devices by making it possible to use additional web browsers to initially register the security keys to your account.

Now, you can register security keys on:

Android devices running Android 7.0 “N” and up using the Google Chrome web browser (version 70 and up)
MacOS devices using Safari (v. 13.0.4 and up)

This will work for security keys registered independently, as well as those registered when a user signs up for the Advanced Protection Program for the enterprise.

Who’s impacted

End users

Why it’s important

Security keys provide the strongest form of 2-Step Verification (also known as two-factor authentication or 2FA) to help protect your account against phishing. By making it easier to register security keys, we hope more users will be able to take advantage of the protection they offer.

This builds on other recent announcements around security keys for G Suite and Cloud Identity, including using an iPhone as a security key for 2-Step Verification, and enabling phones as security keys in the Advanced Protection Program.

Getting started

Registering a security key on an Android mobile device with the Chrome browser

Rollout pace

This feature is available now for all users.

Availability

Available to all G Suite and Cloud Identity customers

Resources

Extending Hangouts Meet premium features to all G Suite customers through July 1, 2020

March 3, 2020

Quick launch summary

As more employees, educators, and students work remotely in response to the spread of COVID-19, we want to do our part to help them stay connected and productive with G Suite.

All G Suite customers can use Hangouts Meet today for easy-to-join video calls, but we’ll soon enable free access to more advanced features, including:

Larger meetings for up to 250 participants per call
Live streaming for up to 100K viewers within domain
Record meetings to Google Drive

These features are typically only available in the Enterprise and Enterprise for Education editions of G Suite, but they’ll be available to all G Suite editions at no additional cost until July 1, 2020.

Getting started

Admins: If you haven’t yet done so, enable Meet video calling for your organization. You can then turn on live streaming and recording.

End users: Once enabled in the Admin console, end users can live stream and record meetings. Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to live stream and record a meeting.

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Free access to advanced features will begin rolling out this week and should be available to all G Suite customers within 2–3 weeks.

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

Resources

Accessibility improvements for Google Docs

March 3, 2020

Quick launch summary

We’re making several improvements to accessibility features in Google Docs. Some enhancements you’ll notice are:

Improvements in how screen readers verbalize content, including for non-text information like comments and suggestions.
Improvements in how Braille displays render content, including symbols, emojis, and other glyphs.
Improved support for navigating through elements such as tables, headers, and footers.
Improved caret tracking.

We hope these improvements make it easier for users of assistive technologies to work in Google Docs.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin action required for this feature.

End users: These improvements will be automatically available to end users. Visit the Help Center to learn more about accessibility for Docs editors.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 3, 2020
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 26, 2020

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Help: Accessibility for Docs editors

Refine search results in Gmail faster with search chips

February 19, 2020

What’s changing

We’re introducing search chips in Gmail, an easier way to sort and filter search results to find exactly what you’re looking for faster.

For example, you can search a colleague’s name and further narrow your results by selecting search chips like attachment type (Text document, Spreadsheet, PDF) or a specific timeframe. You can also filter out certain results, like calendar invites.

Who’s impacted

End users

Why you’d use them

We’ve heard from our users that searching in Gmail could be faster and more intuitive.

With search chips, you can easily refine your search results and find what you’re looking for faster, without needing to sort through irrelevant returns or use search operators (like from: marketing@company.com).

How to get started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.

End users: This feature is available by default. When searching in Gmail, you can further refine your search results by clicking on the search filter chips below the search box.

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 19, 2020

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

View out of office information in more places on Gmail for web

February 19, 2020

Quick launch summary

Last year, we announced the ability to see when someone is out of office in Gmail, specifically when composing a new email or Hangouts Chat. Now, we’re expanding that functionality to more places in Gmail on web, like when you’re hovering over someone’s name in your inbox or in the “To” or “From” line in an email.

This feature gives visibility to your time out of office in more places across G Suite, making it clear to senders the appropriate time to message you.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.

End users: These notices will automatically appear when anyone whose calendar you have access to has an out of office event scheduled. Use our Help Center to learn more about disabling the sharing of availability information to other G Suite apps.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

Resources

Autocorrect now available for Google Docs on web

February 18, 2020

Quick launch summary

Last year, we announced improved as-you-type spelling and grammar corrections in Gmail. Now, we’re bringing that functionality to Google Docs on the web.

Autocorrect helps you compose documents quickly and with confidence. Misspelled words will automatically be corrected while typing and denoted with a grey dashed underline. As you continue typing, this dashed line will disappear.

If you need to undo a correction, you can simply hit backspace, select “Undo” while hovering over the autocorrected word, or use keyboard shortcuts like Command+Z.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, and G Suite Enterprise customers
Not available to G Suite for Education, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits customers

Resources

Google Help: Correct your spelling & grammar

Roadmap

This feature was listed as an upcoming G Suite release.

Smart Compose in Google Docs now generally available

February 18, 2020

Quick launch summary

Last year, we announced a beta for Smart Compose in Google Docs, a feature that helps you compose high-quality content in Google Docs faster and more easily. Smart Compose saves you time by cutting back on repetitive writing, helps reduce the chance of spelling and grammatical errors, and can suggest relevant contextual phrases.

This feature is now generally available and has started rolling out to all G Suite customers. Note that Smart Compose is only available in English at the moment.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: This feature will be ON by default and can be disabled by going to Tools > Preferences and unchecking “Show Smart Compose Suggestions”. When enabled, you’ll automatically see Smart Compose suggestions. To accept a suggestion you like, press “tab” or press the right arrow key. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Smart Compose in Google Docs.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, and G Suite Enterprise customers
Not available to G Suite for Education, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits customers
Not available to users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Help: Use Smart Compose in Google Docs

Roadmap

This feature was listed as an upcoming G Suite release.

Get a better overview of meetings with visual timelines in the Meet Quality Tool

February 13, 2020

Quick launch summary

You can now see a timeline of when users joined a call and events that took place during the call in the Meet Quality Tool. The timeline helps with you visually understand how the call developed over time.

The information on the timeline can be adjusted by selecting/deselecting participants and sorting them by name or join time. You can find more information about the timeline tool in the Help Center.

Getting started:

Admins: This feature will be available by default when using the Meet Quality Tool.

End users: There is no end user setting for this feature.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 13, 2020

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

Resources

G Suite Admin Help: Troubleshoot meeting quality

Gmail for iOS now allows you to add attachments from the Files app

February 12, 2020

Quick launch summary

In the Gmail iOS app, when composing or replying to an email, you can now upload attachments from the Files app on your iPhone or iPad.

Getting started

End users: This feature will be available by default. In the Gmail iOS app, when composing or replying to an email, click the attachment icon and scroll to the “Attachments” section. Then select the folder icon to select an attachment from the Files app.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to all Gmail iOS users.

Edit your new Google Sites faster with a revamped Settings menu

February 11, 2020

Quick launch summary

We’ve made some improvements to the “Settings” menu in new Google Sites. Specifically, we’ve consolidated the location of several settings into one place, making it easier for site editors to access and configure different options for their sites.

For example, you can now now add a favicon to your site by going to Settings > Brand images. Or, to add Google Analytics tracking to your site, go to Settings > Analytics.

We’ve also given site editors the new option to hide anchor links from site viewers on a published site. Currently, anchor links appear by default when site viewers hover over headings on a page. With this new setting, found in Settings > Viewer tools, site editors now have even more control over how a published site looks. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using anchor links in new Google Sites.

Getting started

End users:

Settings menu: The new Settings menu will be available by default. In the “Resources” section below, you’ll find a list of features that can now be accessed in the Settings menu.
Anchor links: Use our Help Center to learn more about adding or disabling anchor links in new Google Sites.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

Resources

Use Hangouts Meet with Safari

February 10, 2020

Quick launch summary

You can now use Hangouts Meet, including screen sharing functionality, with Safari version 13 or higher. This will create a simpler meeting experience for Mac users who prefer to use Safari as their default browser.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.

End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Meet with all major browsers.

Rollout pace

This feature is available now for all users.

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

Resources

Google Help: Requirements for using Hangouts Meet

Update to Sheets API v4 migration timeline

February 7, 2020

Update

March 25, 2020: Given the impact of COVID-19, we're delaying the removal of the spreadsheet and spreadsheets.readonly scopes' ability to list a user's spreadsheets in the v3 API to May 28, 2020. The remainder of the v3 API will be turned down on September 30, 2020, per our previous update.

Quick launch summary

Earlier this year, we announced the retirement of the Sheets v3 API. At that time, we stated that you’d need to migrate any applications built on the v3 API to the v4 API by March 3, 2020 to ensure they continue working properly.

We’re extending our timeline to allow developers additional time to migrate their applications:

Starting on April 9, 2020, the spreadsheet and spreadsheets.readonly scopes can no longer be used to list a user’s spreadsheets in the v3 API.
On September 30, 2020, the remainder of the v3 API will be turned down.

For information on transitioning your apps, check out our migration guide.

Updates to Admin console apps page interface

February 7, 2020

Quick launch summary

We’re making minor changes to the apps page in the Admin console. In addition to performance improvements such as faster page loading, you may notice the following differences when you go to Admin console > Apps:

Settings for Marketplace apps are now managed from links on the Marketplace Apps card, rather than the left hand menu. Click on the whitelisted apps link for more information, or “Manage” to control settings.
Links to the G Suite terms of service are now found at the bottom of the apps page, rather than on the cards themselves.
Visual updates, including clearer text and improved interface navigation.

See screenshots of the new and old page below, or use our Help Center to learn more about how to manage apps in the Admin console.

The new apps hub page in the Admin console

The old apps hub page in the Admin console

Getting started

Admins: This feature will be ON by default. There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: This does not impact end users.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers

Improving data regions with expanded coverage and group-based admin controls

February 6, 2020

What’s changing

Data regions allows G Suite customers to choose a specific geographic location for their covered data. We’re enhancing data regions with three key updates:

Coverage of user indices for Gmail and Calendar
Coverage of Google Keep primary data at rest and backups
More granular group-based controls

In addition to these new features, we’re also moving the location of the data region reporting dashboard from Admin Console > Dashboard to Admin Console > Reports > Data Regions.

Who’s impacted

Admins

Why you’d use it

G Suite’s globally distributed cloud infrastructure reduces latency and protects data with geo redundancy. Therefore, most organizations choose not to geo-restrict their data. However, some organizations have preferences around where their data is stored at rest.

To support those customers, we launched data region controls in 2018. Data regions lets customers designate the region in which covered data is stored when at rest—globally, in the US, or in Europe. Last year, we enhanced data regions with increased coverage of apps and data types.

By covering more apps, additional data types, and more granular admin controls, we hope to better support our customers’ data location preferences.

Additional details

Coverage of user indices for Gmail and Calendar
Gmail and Calendar construct user indices based on information in their accounts, similar to an index in a library, which lists information about all the books the library has available. This index is used to serve user search queries in Gmail and Calendar. These indices will now be covered by data regions. Once rolled out, index data for Gmail and Calendar will automatically be migrated to comply with existing data location policies. Use our Help Center to learn more about how to monitor data location move progress.

Gmail and Calendar user indices will now be supported

Coverage of Google Keep primary data at rest and backups
This addition extends data regions coverage to a total of 11 apps. Once rolled out, Keep’s primary data at rest and backups will automatically be migrated to comply with existing data location policies. Use our Help Center to learn more about how to track data location move progress.

More granular group-based controls
You can now set data regions for specific groups of users in your organization. You could previously only enable them by organizational unit (OU). This additional flexibility and control helps you use the feature without changing your organizational structure.

You can now control data region settings using groups

Getting started

Admins: Data location is OFF by default and can be enabled at the group or OU level. However, when it’s rolled out to your domain, Keep data and indices data for Gmail and Calendar will automatically be migrated to comply with any existing data location policies you’ve set up. Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to choose a geographic location for your data.
End users: There is no end user setting for this feature.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise, and G Suite Enterprise for Education customers
Not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits customers

Resources

Use groups to manage Context Aware Access for G Suite

February 6, 2020

What’s changing

You can now use groups to manage context-aware access for your organization. You could previously only manage them by organizational unit (OU). Context-aware access lets you control access based on user identity and context. Managing this with groups provides extra flexibility, so you can make sure the right users have the right levels of access at the right time.

Use our Help Center to find out how to manage context-aware access.

Who’s impacted

Admins

Why you’d use it

With context-aware access, you can set up different access levels based on a user’s identity and the context of the request (location, device security status, IP address). This can help you provide granular access controls without the need for a VPN, and give users access to G Suite resources based on organizational policies. Find out more about context-aware access.

Using groups enables more granular access controls while minimizing the amount of work required to create and manage different OUs. For example, groups may make it easier to set up different policies for:

Users at different organizational levels (e.g. executives)
Users in specific roles (e.g. admins)
Users with different employment statuses (e.g. full-time employees or temporary workers)

Getting started

Admins: There will be no change to existing context-aware access policies, but you can now set policies at the group level. Visit the Help Center to get an overview of context-aware access, or learn how to customize context-aware access with groups.

End users: There is no end user setting for this feature.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 6, 2020
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 6, 2020

Availability

Available to G Suite Enterprise, G Suite Enterprise for Education, Cloud Identity Premium, and Drive Enterprise customers. See more details.
Not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G Suite for Education, G Suite for Nonprofits, and Cloud Identity Free customers

Resources

Changes to multiple inboxes in Gmail starting February 20, 2020

February 5, 2020

What’s changing

We’re updating the way multiple inboxes work in Gmail. Specifically, starting February 20, 2020, for Rapid release domains and March 5, 2020, for Scheduled release domains, we’ll enhance multiple inboxes to support independent scrolling, a unified toolbar, and adjustable width in right-side configurations.

In addition, starting on those dates, multiple inboxes will no longer support three-pane layouts with the preview pane (renamed “reading pane”) view.

See the “Additional details” section below for more information on these changes.

Who’s impacted

End users

Why it’s important

Multiple inboxes help you break out key emails, like important tasks or those from specific people, and make them visible alongside your main inbox in Gmail, in a completely customizable way.

Additional details

Split pane configurations no longer supported
Beginning February 20, 2020, for Rapid release domains and March 5, 2020, for Scheduled release domains, multiple inboxes with preview pane (to be renamed “reading pane”) configurations will no longer be supported.

If you currently have multiple inboxes in an unsupported configuration, you will see a notification in Gmail informing you of this upcoming change. Once this change takes effect, the preview pane will turn off if you use multiple inboxes. If you want to continue using preview pane (i.e. reading pane), you’ll need to use an inbox type other than multiple inboxes. You can do this by going to Settings > Inbox > Inbox type.

Notification banner in Gmail

Inbox type settings in Gmail

Configure multiple inboxes and reading pane more easily

On these dates, we’ll also relocate the settings for multiple inboxes out of the “Advanced” tab and into the “Inbox” tab along with other inbox configurations to better align with user expectations.

Once these changes go into effect, you’ll be able to enable or disable the reading pane by clicking the gear icon and selecting Settings > Inbox > Reading pane. With reading pane view, you can open mail next to your list of conversations, making mail reading and writing faster while also providing more context.

Reading pane settings in Gmail

Individual scroll bars for multiple inboxes, adjustable panels, and collapsible sections

Starting on these dates, when the right side configuration of multiple inboxes is enabled, each inbox will have an individual scroll bar. This will allow you to scroll in either inbox separately as needed so you can more flexibly navigate your email. Previously, you could only scroll both inboxes at once.

The divider at the right side between the inbox and the multiple inbox sections will become adjustable, allowing you to minimize or maximize each panel as needed.

Also with this update, additional sections in multiple inboxes are now collapsible.

A single action toolbar for multiple inboxes

There will also be one action toolbar across multiple inboxes. This will allow users to take actions across multiple sections and ensure that triage functionality and keyboard shortcuts work consistently. Currently, at the top of each inbox, there is a separate toolbar for each section in the bottom and top configurations, but no toolbar for any of the additional sections for the right-side configuration. Now, there will be one unified toolbar for the whole inbox in all configurations.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for these features.

End users: Once these changes begin rolling out to your domain, the preview pane will turn off if you use multiple inboxes. If you want to continue using the preview pane, you’ll need to use an inbox type other than multiple inboxes. You can do this by going to Settings > Inbox > Inbox type.

Individual scroll bars, adjustable panels, collapsible sections within multiple inboxes, and the single action toolbar will be available by default.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 20, 2020
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 5, 2020

Availability

Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Updates

Less secure app turn-off suspended until further notice

Create pointers to any file or folder in Google Drive with shortcuts

Hangouts Meet improvements for remote learning

New interface for domain management in the Admin console

Sort and filter cells by text or fill color in Google Sheets

Important changes to less secure apps and account recovery management in the Admin console

Set custom table ranges for charts in Google Sheets

Create and use multiple signatures in Gmail

Experience the new Google Groups, launching in beta

Fix images to a certain location on a page in Google Docs

Enroll security keys on more devices

Extending Hangouts Meet premium features to all G Suite customers through July 1, 2020

Accessibility improvements for Google Docs

Refine search results in Gmail faster with search chips

View out of office information in more places on Gmail for web

Autocorrect now available for Google Docs on web

Smart Compose in Google Docs now generally available

Get a better overview of meetings with visual timelines in the Meet Quality Tool

Gmail for iOS now allows you to add attachments from the Files app

Edit your new Google Sites faster with a revamped Settings menu

Use Hangouts Meet with Safari

Update to Sheets API v4 migration timeline

Updates to Admin console apps page interface

Improving data regions with expanded coverage and group-based admin controls

Use groups to manage Context Aware Access for G Suite

Changes to multiple inboxes in Gmail starting February 20, 2020

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