Tag Archives: Gmail

Client-side encryption in Gmail is now available on mobile devices

What’s changing 

We’re expanding client-side encryption in Gmail to Android and iOS devices, so you can read and write encrypted messages directly from your device. This allows your users to work with your most sensitive data from anywhere on their mobile devices while adhering to compliance and regulatory requirements. The Gmail mobile apps support encrypted mail natively, so users don't need to download multiple apps, or navigate to an external portal, to access their encrypted messages. 


While Workspace encrypts data at rest and in transit by using secure-by-design cryptographic libraries, client-side encryption ensures that you have sole control over encryption keys and access to your data. Client-side encryption ensures sensitive data in the email body and attachments are indecipherable to Google servers — you retain control over encryption keys and the identity service to access those keys. For more information, check out our original announcement and the Workspace blog.


Getting started

  • Admins: Admin will need to enable the Android and iOS clients in the CSE admin interface in order for users to have access. This can be done in the Admin Console by going to Security > Access and data control > Client-side encryption > Identity provider configuration. 
  • End users: To add client-side encryption to any message, click the lock icon and select additional encryption, and compose your message and add attachments as normal. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using client-side encryption for Gmail.



Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – September 8, 2023

5 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.


Expanding autocorrect to Google Chat on web 
Google Chat on web will now automatically correct misspelled words, making it easier to send messages without typos. Similar to functionality in Gmail and Google Docs, the corrected words are shown with a gray underline so you know when the auto-correction has occurred. | This feature is rolling out now to all English users.
Expanding autocorrect to Google Chat on web

Expanding streamlined file organization across Google Workspace 
Earlier this year, we introduced streamlined file organization with the new Google Drive location picker. As a follow up, we're expanding this updated visual experience to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Sites and Gmail. Users will now have access to helpful suggestions when moving files, adding shortcuts to files, or creating copies of files. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at an extended pace (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility). | Learn more about how to use Google Drive. 

Updated zoom in/out capabilities across Google Docs, Slides and Drawings
We’re introducing new zoom keyboard shortcuts in Google Docs and Slides on web to help you zoom in, zoom out, or scale to 100%. Additionally, you can now smoothly zoom in or out in Slides using the trackpad or mouse wheel with a modifier key (cmd/ctrl), making it easier to control your view of Slides. | Learn more about keyboard shortcuts for Docs and Slides. 

Expanded language support for captions in Google Meet 
Captions in Google Meet allow you to view captions as everyone speaks during a meeting. Over the course of the next several weeks, you’ll be able to use captions in more languages: 

Arabic (Arab Emirates) (Beta)

Arabic (Egypt) (Beta)

Arabic (Levant) (Beta)

Arabic (Maghrebi) (Beta)

Bengali (Bangladesh) (Beta)

Bulgarian (Bulgaria) (Beta)

Chinese (Simplified) (Beta)

Chinese, Mandarin (Traditional) (Beta)

English (UK) (Beta)

Gujarati (India) (Beta)

Hindi (Beta)

isiXhosa (South Africa) (Beta)

Kannada (India) (Beta)

Khmer (Cambodia) (Beta)

Kinyarwanda (Rwanda) (Beta)

Malayalam (India) (Beta)

Marathi (India) (Beta)

Northern Sotho (South Africa) (Beta)

Sesotho (South Africa) (Beta)

Swati (South Africa) (Beta)

Swedish (Sweden) (Beta)

Tshivenda (South Africa) (Beta)

Tswana (South Africa) (Beta)

Xitsonga (South Africa) (Beta)

Available now to all Google Workspace customers. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using captions in Google Meet.

Dynamic groups now supports negation queries 
You can now create or edit dynamic groups to use negation in membership queries. For example, you can opt to create a dynamic group that excludes all users from a particular sub organization or specific job title. There are a few limitations, however — any query using the “exists” macro and using the AND (&) operator or queries where the NOT operator is used inside of the “exists” macro will not be supported. | Rolling out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting September 11, 2023. | Available to Google Workspace Frontline Standard, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus and Cloud Identity Premium customers only. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about creating membership queries for dynamic groups and our Developer documentation for more information about formulating and testing a membership query. 
Dynamic groups now supports negation queries

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.


Expanding branding and customization capabilities to Google Sites 
You can now easily and quickly create with high-quality, pre-designed themes for Google Sites. | Available to Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus only. | Learn more about changing how your Google Site looks. 

Introducing a new ultra-low latency viewer experience for in-domain live streaming in Google Meet 
We are introducing a new ultra-low latency viewing experience for video meetings that are streamed within an organization. The new experience will be available to the first ten thousand viewers — all additional viewers will have the existing experience. | Learn more about in-domain live streaming in Google Meet. 

More Google Meet features for Google Workspace Individual users 
If you’re a Google Workspace Individual user, you can now take advantage of several new Meet features and enhancements. We hope these updates make it easier for you to connect and collaborate with your customers and stakeholders, continuing to drive your business forward. | Learn more about features for Google Workspace Individual users. 

Lock files more easily in Google Drive 
We’re adding the option to lock Drive files by right-clicking the file, selecting “File information”, and clicking “Lock”. Locking a file makes sure reviewers can’t change a file. Edits, comments and suggestions can't be added to locked documents. | Learn more about locking files in Drive.

Increased row limits in Connected Sheets for BigQuery 
We’re increasing the maximum number of rows of results returned from BigQuery for pivot tables and for data extracts. Pivot tables have been expanded to 50,000 rows (previously 30,000) and data extracts have been expanded to 50,000 rows (previously 25,000). | Learn more about Connected Sheets for BigQuery.


Write emails, documents and more with ease and speed using Duet AI in Google Docs and Gmail

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘23. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of AI innovation in Workspace. This feature is exclusive to the Duet AI for Google Workspace Enterprise add-on.

What’s changing

We’re introducing AI-powered writing features that help you quickly refine existing work or get you started with something new in Google Docs and Gmail using Duet AI for Google Workspace. 

On web and mobile, you can draft and reply to messages in Gmail. Upon selecting the Help me write button, you can choose between the following options: 
  • Write your draft: Use your own words to describe the message you’d like to draft. Help me write also understands the context from previous messages in an email thread to craft reply drafts that are relevant to the conversation. 
  • Formalize your draft: Change the tone of your draft to be more formal. 
  • Elaborate on your draft: Add further detail to your email message to build on the draft. 
  • Shorten your draft: Decrease the length of your email draft. 
  • I’m feeling Lucky: Introduce fun variations on tone and style for content you’ve drafted. 

Whether you’re setting up a meeting with a prospective client or reworking an intro email for a new team member, Help me write in Gmail saves you the time by eliminating the tedious task of writing emails and provides the right tone and style for any message occasion.
Duet AI in Gmail formalizing notes into a polished email.
Duet AI in Gmail formalizing notes into a polished email.

Using Help me write in Docs, simply type a few words describing a topic you’d like to write about and a draft will be instantly generated for you. You can see suggestions as needed and refine the generated content further with the following options: 
  • Tone: Change the tone of the content to be more casual or more formal. 
  • Summarize: Generate a summary for an entire document or a section. 
  • Bulletize: Use bullets to represent your text. 
  • Elaborate: Add further detail to build on the generated text. 
  • Shorten: Make your content more concise by decreasing its length. 
  • Retry: Receive a different generated draft based on your description. 
  • Custom: Provide your own instruction to refine the generated content. 
Whether you’re a recruiter drafting a customized job description or an account executive drafting a sales pitch, Help me write saves you the time and effort of writing the first version of a document by enabling you to focus on bringing your ideas to life instead of conquering a blank page. 
Duet AI in Docs helping to write a job description.
Duet AI in Docs helping to write a job description.


We’re also combining the power of smart canvas with Help me write by weaving smart chips, variables, and building blocks into generated content. This combination will help if you need to include information like status or add variables for details you’d want to customize like your teammate’s names, job titles and more. By providing you with structured data and shortcuts to take action when creating comprehensive plans or messages, this update will help you go from concept to completion much faster without ever leaving your document. 


Who’s impacted 

End users 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 


Resources 

Stronger protection for additional sensitive actions taken in Gmail

What’s changing 

Last year, we introduced stronger safeguards around sensitive actions taken in your Google Workspace accounts. We’re extending these protections to sensitive actions taken in Gmail, specifically actions related to: 
  • Filters: creating a new filter, editing an existing filter, or importing filters. 
  • Forwarding: Adding a new forwarding address from the Forwarding and POP/IMAP settings. 
  • IMAP access: Enabling the IMAP access status from the settings. (Workspace admins control whether this setting is visible to end users or not) 

When these actions are taken, Google will evaluate the session attempting the action, and if it’s deemed risky, it will be challenged with a “Verify it’s you” prompt. Through a second and trusted factor, such as a 2-step verification code, users can confirm the validity of the action. If a verification challenge is failed or not completed, users are sent a “Critical security alert” notification on trusted devices.

If a risky action is taken, you'll be prompted with a "Verify it's you" challenge.



Additional details

Note that this feature only supports users that use Google as their identity provider and actions taken within Google products. SAML users are not supported at this time. See below for more information.

Getting started

Rollout pace


Availability

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

Resources

Adding Gmail translation to mobile devices

What’s changing

For years, our users have conveniently translated emails in Gmail on the web to over 100 languages. Starting today, we’re excited to announce a native translation integration within the Gmail mobile app that will enable you to seamlessly communicate in a wide range of languages. 

To translate messages on mobile, simply select “Translate” on the dismissible banner and choose your preferred language. 
Adding Gmail translation to mobile devices

Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it matters 

This highly requested feature will help users read and understand a conversation in any language. 


Additional details 

A new dismissible banner appears when the content language of a message is different from the “Google.com Mail display language” in your account settings. You can also choose to have Gmail always translate or never translate specific languages. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • To translate a message, click the “Translate” option at the top of your email. 
    • If you dismiss the translation option, the option will appear again the next time the content language of an email doesn't match the set “Google.com Mail display language”. 
    • You can also turn off this setting, which never shows the banner again for a specific language, by accepting the prompt (“Don’t translate [language] again”) that appears when you dismiss the banner, or by selecting "Don't translate [language] again" from the translation settings menu. 
    • If a user has explicitly opt-ed out of translation (as stated above) or the system did not detect another language, you can manually translate a message through the three dot menu. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about translating Gmail messages. 

Rollout pace 

Android: 
iOS: 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – July 14, 2023

4 New updates 

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), 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), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers. 


Improved media viewing on Android devices in Google Chat 
We’re introducing a new media viewer in Google Chat on Android devices that significantly improves the media browsing experience. Now, media thumbnails open faster in full screen, repeat playback is quicker, and you can swipe between all of the media in the conversation. We've also added a shared media option that allows users to quickly browse through all media shared in a Chat conversation, which is accessible from the conversation as well as from the full-screen view of every media item. | Learn more about sending & sharing files in Google Chat messages.




Extending long running queries within Connected Sheets
Currently, we timeout any queries that take longer than 5 minutes for Connected Sheets. This week, we extended the timeout time from 5 minutes to 10 minutes for BigQuery and Looker. This means Connected Sheets users will be able to analyze data from queries that scan even larger data sets in Sheets.  


Filter by measures and value in a pivot table with Connected Sheets for Looker
Previously, Connected Sheets users could filter by dimensions in pivot tables, but not measures. Now, Looker users are able to filter by measures in a pivot table, which allows for even more targeted analysis on Connected Sheets. Additionally, Looker users will be able to filter by value in a pivot table on Connected Sheets. | Learn more about measure types on Looker and creating & using pivot tables. 




Add emojis in Google Sheets
Emojis are a great way for people to express themselves across Google Workspace. We’re excited to announce that you can now insert emojis into a Google Sheet by:
  • Typing “@” > “Emoji” > select the desired emoji
  • Going to “Insert” > “Emoji” > select the desired emoji

Scale meetings to 1,000 attendees, with 500 attendees being viewers, now available for Google Workspace Education Plus
In June 2023, we announced viewer mode for Google Meet. For certain Google Workspace editions, viewer mode can be used to scale their meetings to 1,000 attendees, with 500 attendees being viewers. We’re now expanding this functionality to Google Workspace Education Plus customers. | Learn more about scaling meetings with viewer mode.


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.


Add hyperlinks to text in Google Chat
You can now hyperlink text on web and Android when composing or editing a message in Google Chat. This update also includes the ability to copy over hyperlinks from other places like Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides. | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Learn more about adding hyperlinks to text in Chat.


Paid appointment bookings now available in Google Calendar
To improve upon the current capabilities of appointment scheduling, the Google Calendar feature that allows users to share their availability via a booking page, we're now integrating paid appointment bookings into Google Calendar. | Available to Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Nonprofits and Workspace Individual only. | Learn more about paid appointment bookings in Google Calendar.


Negotiate time directly in Gmail to schedule meetings faster
We’re adding a feature into Gmail that helps you find convenient 1:1 meeting times with others much quicker. This is especially useful when scheduling time with customers, partners or people in your organization whose Google Calendars are not visible to you. | Learn more about scheduling meetings in Gmail.


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.


Rapid Release Domains:

Negotiate time directly in Gmail to schedule meetings faster

What’s changing 

We’re adding a feature into Gmail that helps you find convenient 1:1 meeting times with others much quicker. This is especially useful when scheduling time with customers, partners or people in your organization whose Google Calendars are not visible to you. 
Negotiate time directly in Gmail to schedule meetings faster

While composing an email, you will see a new Calendar icon with all Calendar-related actions consolidated and easily discoverable. You can: 
  • Offer times you’re free: This option opens up your calendar on the right. You can select and insert proposed meeting times directly from your calendar into the email without leaving Gmail. The recipient of the email can then review the proposed times and select one directly from the email to automatically get an email with a calendar invite. 
  • Create an event: This is a quick way to schedule a meeting and share the event information back in the email. Starting the flow opens up a calendar event creation on the right with the recipients and title pre-filled from the email. An event summary will automatically be inserted into the email body for easy sharing. Previously, this feature was available in the three dot menu on top of the email conversation view. 
    Offer times you’re free or create an event

Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why you’d use it 

This feature makes scheduling much easier by reducing the back-and-forth in lengthy email threads when negotiating or scheduling meeting times. 

Additional details 

  • Offer times you’re free: Time suggestions can only be made for your primary calendar at this time and only work for 1:1 meetings. If multiple people are included in the recipient list, only the first person to book an appointment will be added to the event automatically. 
  • Create an event: If you are creating events from Gmail, you can create them on any of the primary or secondary calendars you have manage access to. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for these features. 
  • End users: These features will be ON by default. 
    • To add proposed meeting times in an email, start composing or replying to an email > click “Set up a time to meet” in the menu bar > “Offer times you’re free” > follow the instructions in the right side panel to add times you’re available and other meeting details. 
    • To accept a meeting time, simply click on a time in the email and confirm your name and email. 
    • To create a new event, start composing or replying to an email > click “Setup a time to meet” in the menu bar > “Create an event” and follow the instructions in the right side panel. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about scheduling events in Gmail. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Resources 

Improvements for client-side encryption in Gmail

What’s changing 

We’re introducing two new features for client-side encryption in Gmail which will help you quickly identify ineligible recipients and any attachments that may be blocked: 


When you’re composing a Gmail message using client-side encryption, any recipient who is not able to receive encrypted messages will be denoted with a red chip. The email will not be able to be sent until those recipients are removed. 


Email recipients who cannot receive encrypted messages will be highlighted in red.







Gmail blocks attachments that may spread viruses, like messages that include executable files or scripts. If you receive a client-side encrypted message in Gmail, we’ll automatically check if any attachments are blocked file types. If there are blocked file types, you’ll see a warning banner and you won’t be able to download the file. 

You'll see a warning banner if you receive an email with a blocked attachment type





For more information on client-side encryption in Gmail, check out the Workspace blog and our original announcement. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up client-side encryption for your organization. 
  • End users: 
    • If enabled by your Workspace admin, to add client-side encryption to any message, click the lock icon and select additional encryption, and compose your message and add attachments as normal. 
    • If you include a recipient in the “To” or “CC” fields who cannot receive an encrypted message, their email address will appear as a red chip. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about Gmail Client-side encryption and blocked file types in Gmail. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers 

Resources