Tag Archives: Gmail

Data classifications labels for Gmail are now available in open beta

What’s changing

In addition to Google Drive, we’re expanding data classification labels to now include Gmail. Classification labels are used to classify and audit content according to organizational guidelines (“Sensitive”, “Confidential”, etc.) and apply policies, such as data loss prevention (DLP) rules, to protect sensitive information in email messages. Classification labels will be available when using Gmail on the web – support for Gmail on mobile devices will be introduced in the coming months.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why it’s important

Data breaches are increasingly common and costly across all sectors, including enterprises, public sectors, and government institutions. To minimize data exfiltration and better understand the data being shared, organizations need to differentiate between various types of information and their sensitivity levels to apply data protection policies accordingly. By expanding data classification labels to Gmail, Google Workspace provides admins with a more flexible and robust system integrated with data protection capabilities to help organizations effectively categorize and protect sensitive information. 

Specifically, admins can create:

  • New classification labels or extend existing ones enabled in Drive labels for Gmail from the Label Manager. Labels can be used to  denote department names, document types, document status, and other custom categories. 

The Label Manager tool can be accessed in the Admin console  by going to Security > Access and data control


  • Data protection rules with classification label as a condition, to apply actions to a message based on its classification. For example, a message will be blocked if it’s classified as ‘Internal’ and is being sent to an external recipient.
Notification about delivery failure due to DLP policy, blocking messages labeled as ‘Confidential’ to be sent to recipients outside of the organization




  • Data protection rules to automatically apply classification labels to a message, based on its content. For example, a ‘Confidential’ label can be applied to a message if it contains sensitive financial information, such as credit card or bank account numbers.
Data protection rule with ‘Apply a label’ action. Classification label specified in the rule will be applied to a message, if message contains information matching conditions of the rule

  • DLP rules with Confidential Mode as a condition to prevent sending messages with sensitive information, if it is not encrypted (Confidential Mode is not enabled)
Data protection rule is set up to detect messages with sensitive information (credit card or passport numbers) and confidential mode disabled in order to enforce sending such info with enhanced protection measures





  • End users can view and apply Classification Labels when using Gmail on the web.
Users can apply classification labels to a message, according to the organization’s data governance policies



Additional details

  • When Data loss prevention (DLP) rules for Gmail using classification labels either as a condition or as an action, messages are scanned asynchronously. This means that the message is classified, blocked or quarantined after it leaves the sender's mailbox) and before being dispatched to the recipient. In a future release, we plan to provide synchronous support with instant notifications consistent with our synchronous support of instant DLP enforcement for Gmail.

Note that:
    • If the message is blocked as a result of the classification label applied to it, the sender will get a bounce back message.
    • If the message is automatically labeled by a DLP rule, the sender will not see the label reflected in the sent message. The recipient will see the automatically applied label the same way as any other classification label applied manually by the sender.

  • Only Badged options list and Multiple Options list (Single select) field types are supported in Gmail. If classification labels are enabled for usage in both Gmail and Drive, and it contains fields that are not supported in Gmail, such as date or persona, Gmail users will see the label only with fields of the supported types.

Getting started

  • Admins: 
  • End users: If configured by your admin, you’ll see the “Classification” option when composing a new messaging or replying to an existing message — when you open the menu, you can select labels relevant to your message. We'll share the end user Help Center article on Monday, November 3, 2024.

Rollout pace


Availability

  • The Label Manager and manual classification is available to Google Workspace:
    • Frontline Starter and Standard
    • Business Standard and Plus
    • Enterprise Standard and Plus
    • Education Standard and Education Plus
    • Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus

  • Data loss prevention rules with labels as a condition or labels as an action are available to:
    • Enterprise Standard and Plus
    • Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, and the Teaching & Learning Upgrade
    • Frontline Standard
    • Cloud Identity Premium (in combination with a Workspace Edition eligible for Gmail)

Resources






Refine emails faster with updates to the “Polish” shortcut in Gmail

What’s changing

In August, we announced Help me write and Refine my draft shortcuts on mobile devices. Today, we’re excited to expand the Help me write shortcut to web and introduce a Polish shortcut on web and mobile that helps you refine emails even faster. 

  • On web, the Help me write shortcut will now appear in the body of the email when an email draft is empty. The Polish shortcut will appear for drafts with 12+ words, and pressing the shortcut text or typing Ctrl+H will automatically show a polished email output. 
polish shortcut Gmail on web

  • On mobile, the Help me write shortcut will continue to appear in the body of the email when an email draft is empty. The Polish shortcut will now appear for drafts with 12+ words. Swiping on the shortcut text will automatically show a polished email output. From there, users can tap a refinement chip (Formalize, Elaborate or Shorten) to edit the draft in place. 

polish shortcut on mobile
Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Web: 
Android & iOS: 

Availability 

Available for Google Workspace customers with: 
  • Gemini Business and Enterprise add-on 
  • Gemini Education and Education Premium add-on
  • Google One AI Premium 

Resources


Available in alpha: use Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps in seven additional languages

What’s changing

You can now use Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Gmail, and Google Drive in seven additional languages:

  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish
  • French 

The additional languages are available in alpha for Workspace customers with a Gemini Business, Gemini Enterprise, Gemini Education, and Gemini Education Premium add-on. Admins can use our Help Center to learn more about turning access to Gemini for Google Workspace Alpha features on for your users.

With Gemini in the side panel of your Workspace apps, you can get help summarizing, analyzing, and generating content by utilizing insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more—all without switching applications or tabs. For more information, please refer to our original announcements for Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, and Drive, as well as Gmail respectively.

Getting started



Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – October 4, 2024

4 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.




Access filter chips easier in Google Drive search 
Last year, we introduced search chips in Drive to enable you to filter by criteria like file type, owner, and last modified date. To build upon this, we are adding these filters inside the Drive search bar, so you can find relevant files even faster in Drive. We will also show new as-you-type suggestions for filter chips. For example, if you type “doc”, you’ll see a suggested “Document” file type chip. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for October 22, 2024. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about searching and finding files in Drive.

Access filter chips easier in Google Drive search

The Option List field type is now two separate field types in Label Manager 
Since launching, Google Drive Labels have supported the ability to make an Option List field a single-select or multi-select. To make this setting clearer and improve upon the user experience in the Label Manager, we’ve separated the options into two separate field types: Options list (Single select) and Options list (Multi select). | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, Frontline Starter and Frontline Standard customers only. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about adding fields to a label. 


Improved spelling suggestions for Germanic languages in Google Docs
For years, users have used Google Docs’ spelling suggestion features for a variety of languages. This week, we’re excited to announce improvements to Norwegian spelling suggestions: 
  • Norwegian Bokmal 
  • Norwegian Nynorsk 
Rolling out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains now. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about checking your spelling & grammar in Google Docs and changing your language on the web.


Introducing new summary cards for purchase information in the Gmail mobile app 
Summary cards extract information from related purchase emails and visually display it at the top of the email to provide helpful information about orders and deliveries. This week, we’re excited to announce updates for purchase-related summary cards including new action buttons, the ability to organize key information across related emails, and real-time status updates. Now you can effortlessly find order details of recent purchases or stay up-to-date on the latest delivery status. The new purchase summary cards are now available in the Gmail mobile app on iOS and Android devices. | For Android devices, rollout to Rapid Release domains is complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for October 14, 2024. | For iOS devices, rollout to Rapid and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using summary cards in Gmail.

new summary cards for purchase information in the Gmail mobile app

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Comments and action items are now available for client-side encrypted Google Sheets and Slides 
The use of comments and action items are now available in client-side encrypted Google Sheets and Slides. | Learn more about client-side encrypted comments in Sheets and Slides.


Beta update: Data Loss Prevention enforcement in Gmail is now instantaneous 
We’re announcing enhancements for the Data Loss Prevention for Gmail open beta, which are designed to improve usability without compromising sensitive data protections for Gmail. | Learn more about the DLP beta in Gmail. 


New Watermarking in Google Meet Helps Protect Your Meeting Content 
Google Workspace customers with a Gemini add-on can now watermark presented content and video feeds in Google Meet. Watermarking in Google Meet will appear as a subtle text overlay that displays the meeting code and the email address of the viewer over the shared content and video feeds of participants.| Learn more about Watermarking in Meet.


Gmail Q&A now available on iOS devices
Last month, we introduced a new way of searching your inbox with Gemini on Android devices. Starting this week, this feature is also available on iOS devices, enabling you to ask Gemini questions about your inbox. | Learn more about Q&A on iOS devices.


For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).   

Gmail Q&A now available on iOS devices

What’s changing

Last month, we introduced a new way of searching your inbox with Gemini on Android devices. Starting today, this feature is also available on iOS devices, enabling you to ask Gemini questions about your inbox. Gmail Q&A can help you answer specific questions about your emails, show you unread messages or messages from a specific sender, summarize emails about a topic in your inbox, and even answer general questions from search, all without having to leave your inbox.
Gmail Q&A now available on iOS devices

Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why it matters

We are excited to help users supercharge their productivity with the help of Gemini in Gmail. Users now have even more capabilities from Gemini to help users get more done during their day at their desks and now, on the go. 

Getting started

  • Admins: To access Gmail Q&A on Android, users need to have smart features and personalization turned on. Admins can turn on default personalization setting for their users in the Admin console. 
  • End users: 
    • Open Gemini in the Gmail app via the black Gemini star at the top right of your app or from a “summarize this email” chip. To start, Gmail Q&A can find information from your inbox. In the future, it will be able to find information from your Drive as well
    • Note: Gmail Q&A is currently available in English only.

Rollout pace 

Availability 

Available for Google Workspace customers with these add-ons: 
  • Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, Education Premium 
  • Google One AI Premium 

Resources 

Beta update: Data Loss Prevention enforcement in Gmail is now instantaneous

What’s changing 

Today, we are announcing enhancements for the Data Loss Prevention for Gmail open beta, which are designed to improve usability without compromising sensitive data protections for Gmail. Once deployed, users will receive instant notifications on risks to applicable DLP policies prior to leaving their inbox, instead of having DLP rules evaluated after the message has already left the inbox. In addition to more timely user feedback, this capability, called synchronous DLP, helps educate users about the potential risk of leaking sensitive information. 


We’re also introducing a new action for DLP rules, “Warn”, which will notify users about potentially sensitive data while providing the option to send the message based on a user’s assessment of a risk. For added safety, the DLP service will scan messages one additional time after they leave the sender's mailbox.


Who’s impacted

Admins and end users


Why it matters 

Data breaches are one of the most common and costly security issues facing organizations. Often these breaches originate from within an organization by unintentional or intentional actions by their users. Data loss prevention capabilities help prevent this exfiltration of data and helps guide users about what information to share. To help safeguard sensitive information, organizations can create and enforce policies that not only detect and block sensitive information from being shared, but educate users on what information sharing is or is not appropriate and how to be compliant with those guidelines. Specifically, data loss prevention rules can look for sensitive text stings, custom detectors, or predefined detectors in outgoing messages sent internally or externally. 


The latest update for data loss prevention rules in Gmail brings the experience in line with Google Drive and Google Chat, which are already adopted broadly by Google Workspace customers. You can refer to our Help Center for more information about data loss prevention in Gmail.


Additional details

Customizable warning messages
DLP rules can be configured to block the message, warn users about sensitive information, or quarantine the message. When sensitive information is detected, users will be shown a dialog box notifying them of the risk. Admins can now choose to customize the information shown to end users in these dialog boxes, including why their message was flagged, what they can do to unblock themselves, and links to additional resources to educate them further.

Example of a custom warning message




Continued asynchronous scanning of messages
While messages will now be scanned synchronously, messages will go through additional scanning asynchronously (after the message leaves the inbox) for an additional layer of protection. This includes messages that are sent automatically, such as auto-forward or scheduled send, and messages sent from non-Gmail clients.


Getting started

  • Admins:
    • Data loss prevention in Gmail is available in open beta for select Google Workspace customers. These rules can be configured at the domain, OU, or group level. DLP rules can be enabled in Gmail in the Admin console under Security > Access and data control > Data protection. Note that with the new synchronous scanning, your end users will begin seeing dialog boxes related to these rules before messages leave the inbox. These will be displayed when using Gmail on the web and mobile.

    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about controlling sensitive data shared in Gmail. Note that you can modify existing DLP rules for Drive and Chat to also apply to Gmail. 

    • DLP events can be reviewed in the Security Investigation Tool or Security > Alert Center, if alerts are configured in rules.

    • We recommend selecting “Audit only” when you’re setting up a new rule in order to test and monitor its performance, or to passively monitor the environment without interrupting email flow for your users. There are no changes to the “Audit only” action with this update, they will continue to operate as usual.

  • End users: Depending on the data loss prevention rules configured by your admin, you may see a dialog letting you know that:

    • Your message is blocked: Your message contains information that cannot be shared — you’ll need to remove it in order to send your message.
Dialog in case of a blocked message
    • Your message contains sensitive information: Your message contains information that is sensitive, but can be shared — you can decide whether to send it or edit the message to exclude this information. Note that your admin will be notified about this activity.


      Dialog in case of a warning

    • Your message contains sensitive information that requires review: Your message contains information that will need to be reviewed by an admin. You’ll have the option to submit it for review, and upon review it will be released for delivery or declined. You may receive a notification about the message being declined from delivery.


      Example of a quarantine message

Rollout pace

Availability

Available for Google Workspace:
  • Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus
  • Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, and the Teaching & Learning Upgrade
  • Frontline Standard
  • Cloud Identity Premium customers

Resources


Gemini in the Gmail app will now provide contextual Smart Replies

What’s changing

In 2017, we introduced Smart Reply in Gmail, a feature that utilizes machine learning to suggest three quick responses to emails based on the email's content. Thanks to this feature, users have saved time, especially when on the go, by easily responding to emails with minimal effort. 

However, we realize there are scenarios in which users would like to respond with more than a simple “Sounds good to me!” or a “Yes, I’m working on it”. As a result, we’re excited to announce a new Gemini in Gmail feature, contextual Smart Replies, that will offer more detailed responses to fully capture the intent of your message. 

After initiating an email reply, users will see a few response options at the bottom of their screen that take the full content of the email thread into consideration. Hover over each response to get a quick preview of the text, select the one that feels right for the situation, and edit it as you see fit or send the response immediately. 
Get reply suggestions with Gemini in Gmail

Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it’s important 

The contextual Smart Reply feature saves time and makes inbox management easier. 


Getting started


Rollout pace 

Web & Mobile: 

Availability 

Available for Google Workspace customers with these add-ons: 
  • Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, Education Premium 
  • Google One AI Premium 

Resources 

Gmail allows more senders to protect their brand using BIMI Common Mark Certificates

What’s changing

Since 2021, Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) has been critical in building trust between email senders and email recipients. To qualify for BIMI, senders must adopt best practices and have their domains and brand logos verified by a third party. Together, this helps foster trust among recipients, allowing them to easily identify emails for legitimate sources. Today, we’re pleased to announce two additional updates for BIMI that will continue to keep inboxes safe: 


Gmail now supports Common Mark Certificates (CMC), a new type of BIMI certificate being issued by Certificate Authorities (CA). CMCs allow a broader range of senders to utilize BIMI, who might not have the registered trademark required for a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC). With a CMC, the sender's brand avatar will be displayed without the Gmail verified checkmark that's displayed for VMCs. 


BIMI verified check marks are now displayed on Android and iOS. Currently, Gmail on the web will display a verified checkmark for senders who have adopted BIMI with a registered trademark (VMC). Over the next few weeks, users will also see those verified checkmark icons while using the Gmail application on Android and iOS (Apple Mail or other mail applications are not supported). Note that this update is applicable for VMCs only.



Who’s impacted

Admins and end users


Why it’s important

BIMI promotes another layer of security to Gmail by requiring strong authentication and verification of logos before they’re displayed in Gmail as avatars. Strong email authentication helps users and email security systems identify and stop spam, and also enables senders to leverage their brand trust. This increases confidence in email sources and gives readers an immersive experience, creating a better email ecosystem for everyone. 


Getting started

  • Admins:
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up BIMI. 
    • To learn more about BIMI and see the latest news, visit the working group’s website. 
    • To take advantage of BIMI for your outgoing emails to Gmail and other platforms, ensure that your organization has adopted DMARC, and that you have validated your logo with a VMC, issued by a Certification Authority.
  • End users: Users will see verified brand logos, and sometimes a checkmark icon, for senders who have adopted BIMI. 

Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts

Resources