Tag Archives: Gmail

Resize the Chat and Rooms sections in Gmail on the web

Quick launch summary 

You can now resize the Chat and Rooms sections in the left-side navigation of Gmail on the web. This makes it easier to stay on top of your most important conversations and navigate to relevant chats faster. 

Hover over a section header and drag up or down to resize. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: There is no end-user setting for this feature. To resize a section, click on a section header and drag to adjust as needed. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers

Expanding the Gmail delegate limit

What’s changing 

We’re expanding the number of allowed Gmail delegates from 25. In addition, to help with delegate management, delegation for Contacts is now available via the Contacts API. 

Who’s impacted 

Admins, end users, and developers 

Why you’d use it 

We’ve heard from you that allowing more than 25 users to access a single mailbox can sometimes help manage the messages. For example, in certain cases, the volume and variety of inquiries necessitated having a larger group of individual users be able to read and respond to them. To address this need, we‘ve enabled higher limits. 

Additionally, we’re now offering programmatic access to managing Contacts delegation, similar to how Gmail delegation can be managed via the API. Note that delegation limits for Contacts delegation are not changing. 

Additional details 

Where previously we advised that a technical limit of 25 delegates applied for email delegation, our updated guidance is as follows: 
  • With typical usage, up to 40 of those configured users may concurrently access the account. However, please note that 
    • All other Gmail limits and policies continue to apply. 
    • Heavy usage by any user will reduce the overall concurrency limit. This will most commonly occur if automation or scripting (e.g. via Chrome extension or API) is used to engage with the mailbox via high frequency actions. 
  • Up to 1000 delegates may be configured as delegates for the purposes of setting up access control. 
  • For high-volume operations such as sales or support teams, we continue to recommend the use of a dedicated ticketing system. Gmail is not intended to replace a ticketing system for scaled operations. 
  • Contacts delegation is still limited to 25 delegates per user.  

Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Open Office attachments from Gmail in Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides with one click

What’s changing

We’re making it easier to view, edit, and collaborate on Microsoft Office files sent and received in Gmail using Docs, Sheets, and Slides. With this launch, we’re adding: 
  • Open Office files in Docs, Sheets, or Slides with one click: When you send or receive email with an Office file attached, you’ll see an edit icon that will open the file directly in Docs, Sheets, or Slides while preserving the original file format. 
  • Easily reply to the email from within the file: Once the file is opened, you’ll have new options to respond to the email thread from the File menu in Docs, Sheets, or Slides. 

See images below. 


Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it’s important 

This provides a fast and convenient way to view, edit, and collaborate on emailed Office files directly in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Previously, users would have to save a file to Drive before being able to use G Suite’s Office editing features. With this launch, they can open files more quickly and reply to email threads featuring Office files more easily. 


Getting started 


When you receive an Office file in Gmail, click the Edit icon to quickly open the file to view, edit, and collaborate. 

After opening an Office file from Gmail, you’ll see new options in the Docs, Sheets, or Slides File menu to reply with a file, or open the original message. 


Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials and Enterprise Essentials customers 

Resources 

View richer information about coworkers directly within the Gmail side panel

What’s changing 

You can now find additional information about people within your organization, your Contacts, people who email you in the Gmail side panel. This includes: 
  • Contact information, such as phone number and email address, 
  • Team and manager, 
  • Office and desk location, 
  • Whether you’ve received email from them before, and more. 
Additional information will appear in the Gmail side panel.



You can also add people to your contacts and send them an email or message. 

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 

Why you’d use it 

This feature expands upon information you can already view when hovering over a person’s name in Gmail. In the side panel, you can learn more about who the person you’re collaborating with is, what team they’re on, and whether you’ve interacted with them before. We hope this feature makes collaboration and connecting with key stakeholders easier. 

Additional details 

To maximize this feature, it’s helpful to have user data fully populated across Google Workspace apps. Workspace admins can populate this data in a few locations: 

Getting started 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits
  • Available to users with personal Google Accounts

Resources 

iPhones just got more helpful with Gmail, Drive and Fit widgets

When iPhone 12 was released a few weeks ago, we launched helpful widgets for your favorite Google apps on iOS. Over the next few days, we’re adding more for Gmail, Drive and Fit—and Calendar and Chrome widgets are on their way too.

Gmail

With the new Gmail widget, you can search your inbox, start a new message and check for unread messages at a glance.
Gmail widget

Google Drive

The new Drive widget helps you access files you’re most likely to need—and lets you search for any file from your homescreen.

Google Drive widget

Google Fit

For those of you keeping track of your activity with Heart Points and Steps in Google Fit, this helpful new widget puts those numbers front and center on your iOS device.

Google Fit widget

Coming soon 

Finally, we’re pleased to announce that in the coming weeks we’ll launch a Calendar widget and in the new year a new widget for Chrome. Calendar will put your upcoming appointments on your homescreen and give you quick access to your full calendar.

Calendar widget

The Chrome widget will give you quick access to search, open a new tab or incognito tab, voice search and QR code scanning— and the smaller widget comes with a little prehistoric surprise. If you have Chrome Beta you can try widgets today, and we’ll be bringing them to everyone early next year.

Chrome widget

To install any Google widget on iOS, first make sure you have the latest corresponding app downloaded from the App Store. Then follow these steps:


  1. Press and hold  on the home screen of your iPhone or iPad

  2. Tap the plus icon on the upper left corner to open the widget gallery

  3. Search for & tap the widget you’d like to install

  4. Swipe right/left to select the widget size

  5. Tap “Add Widget”

  6. Place the widget and tap “Done” at the upper right corner

Source: Drive


New settings for smart features and personalization in Gmail


People have come to expect a lot from their email. But whether you’re an inbox zero master or a never-archiver, you want your email experience to be easy and secure. Since 2004, many have grown to love Gmail for its time-saving and security features. From assistive writing capabilities to high priority notifications to blocking more than 99.9 percent of spam, phishing and malware from reaching your inbox, we built Gmail to make communication less of a chore.


In the same way, people have come to expect easier control of their data—and here too, we’ve been on a mission to take the work out of managing your privacy. That’s why our engineers at the Google Safety Engineering Center in Europe developed Privacy Checkup as an easy way to review key settings and see (and delete) the data that Google collects to provide you with helpful experiences. And it’s why we introduced auto-delete as the default this year to make control over your data even more automatic. 

In the coming weeks, we’re launching yet another way to put you in control of your data and the Google experience, with a new setting for smart features and personalization in Gmail.

Option to continue with smart features
Option to personalize other Google products with Gmail, Chat and Meet data

New setting for Smart features

Soon, you’ll see a new setting for controlling whether your data in Gmail, Meet and Chat can be used to offer “smart” features in these and other Google products. Think: tabbed inbox, Smart Compose and Smart Reply in Gmail; reminders when your bills are due in the Google Assistant; and restaurant reservations in Google Maps.


The ability to turn on (or not) some of these individual smart features is not new. What’s new is a clearer choice over the data processing that makes them possible. This new setting is designed to reduce the work of understanding and managing that process, in view of what we’ve learned from user experience research and regulators’ emphasis on comprehensible, actionable user choices over data.


We’ll continue evolving controls in our products to align with these trends. Because smart features rely on your data to save you time and provide a more helpful experience, we want you to use them because you find value in using them, not because they’re simply there.

Continuing to protect your privacy

As with all Google products, Gmail, Meet and Chat are secure-by-design to help protect your data and safeguard your privacy. As before, these smart features are provided by using automated algorithms, not manual review. And, Google ads are not based on your personal data in Gmail, no matter which choice you make. You remain in control of your data, whether you’re an individual Gmail user or a Google Workspace administrator.


If you decide not to use smart features and personalization, you will still be able to use Gmail and our other products. And if you decide later on that these features are helpful and you’d like to turn them on, you can do so in your Gmail settings. At home or at work, the choice should be yours. And we’re always working to keep it simple.

Source: Gmail Blog


An update to storage policies across your Google Account

Over the past decade, Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos have helped billions of people securely store and manage their emails, documents, photos, videos and more. Today, people are uploading more content than ever before—in fact, more than 4.3 million GB are added across Gmail, Drive and Photos every day. 

To continue providing everyone with a great storage experience and to keep pace with the growing demand, we're announcing important upcoming storage changes to your Google Account. These changes will apply to Photos and Drive (specifically Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms and Jamboard files) and will enable us to continue investing in these products for the future. We're also introducing new policies for consumer Google Accounts that are either inactive or over their storage limit across Gmail, Drive (including Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms and Jamboard files) and Photos, to bring our policies more in line with industry standards. 

These storage policy changes won’t take effect until June 1, 2021. However, we wanted to let you know well in advance and give you the resources to navigate these changes. Google Workspace subscribers, and G Suite for Education and G Suite for Nonprofits customers should refer to our Google Workspace Updates post to understand how these changes may affect them.

As always, every Google Account will continue to come with 15 GB of free storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos, which we estimate should last the majority of our users several years.  Because the content you store with these apps is primarily personal, it’s not used for advertising purposes. We’ll also continue to give you visibility and control over your storage, and provide tools to help you easily manage it. 


New content that will count toward your Google Account storage

Beginning June 1, any new photo or video uploaded in High quality in Google Photos will count toward your free 15 GB storage quota or any additional storage you’ve purchased as a Google One member. To make this transition easier, we’ll exempt all High quality photos and videos you back up before June 1. This includes all of the High quality photos and videos you currently store with Google Photos. Most people who back up in High quality should have years before they need to take action—in fact, we estimate that 80 percent of you should have at least three years before you reach 15 GB. You can learn more about this change in our Google Photos post.
All existing High quality photos and videos won't count towards your storage


Also starting June 1, any new Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms or Jamboard file will begin counting toward your free 15 GB of allotted storage or any additional storage provided through Google One. Existing files within these products will not count toward storage, unless they’re modified on or after June 1. You can learn more in our Help Center.


A new policy for accounts that are inactive or over storage limit

We’re introducing new policies for consumer accounts that are either inactive or over their storage limit across Gmail, Drive (including Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms and Jamboard files) and/or Photos to better align with common practices across the industry. After June 1: 

  • If you're inactive in one or more of these services for two years (24 months), Google may delete the content in the product(s) in which you're inactive. 
  • Similarly, if you're over your storage limit for two years, Google may delete your content across Gmail, Drive and Photos.

We will notify you multiple times before we attempt to remove any content so you have ample opportunities to take action. The simplest way to keep your account active is to periodically visit Gmail, Drive or Photos on the web or mobile, while signed in and connected to the internet. 

The Inactive Account Manager can help you manage specific content and notify a trusted contact if you stop using your Google Account for a certain period of time (between 3-18 months). Note that the new two year inactive policy will apply regardless of your Inactive Account Manager settings. 

You can learn more about these changes in our Help Center. 


How to manage your storage

To help you manage your Google Account storage, anyone can use the free storage manager in the Google One app and on the web, which gives you an easy way to see how you’re using your storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos. You can keep the files you want, delete the ones you no longer need and make room for more—all in one place.
Manage Google Account Storage with free Google One tool

If you need more than your free 15 GB of storage, you can upgrade to a larger storage plan with Google One. You can choose from plans starting at 100 GB of space that also include additional member features like access to Google experts, shared family plans and more.

In addition to helping us meet the growing demand for storage, these changes align our storage policies across products. As always, we remain committed to providing you a great experience and hope to continue to serve you in the future. You can learn more about this change in our Help Center. 

Set your status as away in Google Chat in Gmail

Quick launch summary

You can now set yourself as “away” in Chat in Gmail.

When you set your status to away, you will show as offline to others, even when you’re active, helping you to focus solely on your work uninterrupted.

New presence menu in Gmail


Set your status as away on Gmail mobile apps


For domains that still use chat in classic Hangouts, disabling the “Show when you were last active” setting will now show you as away in Chat.

This feature is rolling out to Gmail on the web and the Gmail iOS app. It will be coming soon to the Gmail app on Android. We will post on the Google Workspace Updates blog when this rollout begins.

Getting started


Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available to Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers
  • Not available to Essentials customers

Resources

Grant access to Drive files directly from Gmail

Quick launch summary 


We’re making it easier to manage access requests to Drive files by sending dynamic emails which allow you to respond to the request without leaving Gmail. 

When someone requests access to a Drive file, you’ll receive an email with the access request. Now, Gmail users will be able to manage that request directly from that email, without leaving the message. Specifically, you’ll receive a dynamic email that lets you review the request, choose the access level (e.g. edit, comment, or view), and grant access directly from the email. 

Previously, you had to open the document in a new tab or app to manage the access request. The dynamic email will make it quicker and simpler to manage these requests and control access to your files. It will work for Gmail users on the web, on Android, and on iOS. 

Note that the 'from' address for access request emails is changing with this launch. They will now come from [email protected]. 



Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers, and users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Grant access to Drive files directly from Gmail

Quick launch summary 


We’re making it easier to manage access requests to Drive files by sending dynamic emails which allow you to respond to the request without leaving Gmail. 

When someone requests access to a Drive file, you’ll receive an email with the access request. Now, Gmail users will be able to manage that request directly from that email, without leaving the message. Specifically, you’ll receive a dynamic email that lets you review the request, choose the access level (e.g. edit, comment, or view), and grant access directly from the email. 

Previously, you had to open the document in a new tab or app to manage the access request. The dynamic email will make it quicker and simpler to manage these requests and control access to your files. It will work for Gmail users on the web, on Android, and on iOS. 

Note that the 'from' address for access request emails is changing with this launch. They will now come from [email protected]. 



Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers, and users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources