Tag Archives: Google Drive

Stronger data security and privacy with Google Workspace Client-side encryption beta

What’s changing 

Today we announced the beta for Google Workspace Client-side encryption, which is available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus and Google Workspace Education Plus customers. The beta will be available for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, with support for all file types in Drive including Office files, PDFs, and more. We’re committed to a roadmap that enables Client-side encryption across Google Workspace, including Gmail, Meet, and Calendar. Support for Google Meet is coming in the fall. Follow the Google Workspace Updates blog to learn when that’s available. 

The beta will start rolling out in the next few weeks, but eligible customers can now apply for the beta here. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins 


Why it’s important 

Google Workspace already uses the latest cryptographic standards to encrypt all data at rest and in transit between our facilities. But with Client-side encryption, we’re taking this a step further by giving customers direct control of encryption keys and the identity provider used to access those keys. This can help you strengthen the confidentiality of your data while helping to address a broad range of data sovereignty and compliance needs. 

When using Client-side encryption, customer data is indecipherable to Google. Customers can create a fundamentally stronger privacy posture, whether that’s to comply with regulations like ITAR and CJIS or simply to better protect the privacy of their confidential data 



Additional details 

To enable Client-side encryption, you’ll choose a key access service partner: Flowcrypt, Futurex, Thales, or Virtru. Each of these partners have built tools in accordance with Google’s specifications and provide both key management and access control capabilities. Your partner of choice holds the key to decode encrypted Google Workspace files, and Google cannot access or decipher these files without this key. If you prefer to build or integrate your own in-house key services, we will be publishing the key access service API specifications that can be used with Client-side encryption later this year. 



Getting started 

Rollout pace 

  • The beta will start rolling out in the next few weeks, but eligible customers can now apply for the beta here. You’ll get more details via email a few weeks after registering your interest in the beta via the form. 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Enhanced content classification and DLP with Drive labels beta

What’s changing 

We’re expanding betas for two related features which can help categorize content and enhance content protection at scale. Specifically, we’re adding: 
  • Drive labels. This renaming and update to the previously-announced Drive metadata feature enables admins to configure custom labels (formerly “metadata”) for a domain, and then enable users to apply these labels to files in Drive. 
  • Automated classification and Drive data loss prevention (DLP) integration. Automated classification can help organizations automatically add Drive labels to content based on administrator-defined rules and predefined content detectors. 
    • As part of this launch, we’re adding 60 new content detectors, including resumes, SEC filings, patents, and source code. 
    • Using automated classification makes it easier to scale your use of labels while reducing the risk of manual classification errors. 
    • Both manual and automated labels can be used with DLP to prevent external sharing, downloading, and printing of some files. 

These features are currently available in beta. Interested customers can now apply for the beta here. 

Drive labels will be available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and Nonprofits customers. Automated classification and DLP will be available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, and Education Plus customers. 



Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why you’d use it 

Special handling of sensitive data is an integral part of a strong information governance policy, and that begins with labeling files which may contain sensitive intellectual property, personally identifiable information, data subject to special compliance regulations, and more. Additionally, they can help admins prevent external sharing, downloading, and printing of classified files via an integration with data loss prevention (DLP). Moreover, admins can create labels to indicate department names, document types, document status, and anything else you can think of, to facilitate content discovery in advanced search. 

When used in conjunction with automated classification, labels in Drive can be added automatically based on administrator-defined DLP rules and predefined content detectors. This automated classification can help scale data classification and protection efforts by reducing the administrative burden and potential errors associated with manual labels. 


Admins can define custom labels for their organization 

Users can add labels to Drive files (if permitted by admin), or take advantage of automatic classification 

Admins can set data loss prevention (DLP) rules for files with a certain label 

Getting started 

Rollout pace 

  • The betas will start accepting new organizations on a rolling monthly cadence. Eligible customers can now apply to join the beta here. You’ll get more details via email when the beta is available to use. 

Availability 

Drive labels 
  • Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and Nonprofits customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Education Fundamentals, and Frontline, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers. 

Automated classification & DLP integration 
  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and Education Plus customers. 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Get more control over how files can be shared with trust rules for Google Drive beta

What’s changing 

Because sharing ideas and information is at the heart of trusted collaboration, it’s critical that you have the ability to powerfully and precisely manage your files. That’s why we’re introducing a beta for trust rules for Google Drive. Trust rules is a new security feature which allows admins to set fine-grained rules defining whom their users can collaborate with in Drive, both within and outside of their organization. 

Trust rules will replace the existing “Sharing options” in the Google Drive admin controls. Admins will be able to choose to allow, deny, or display warnings to end-users within specific organizational units (OUs) or groups when they attempt to: 
  • Share Drive files with external users or external domains 
  • Receive Drive files from external users or external domains 
  • Share Drive files with other OUs or groups within the organization 
  • Receive Drive files from other OUs or groups within the organization 

Read our announcement blog post to learn more about this beta and our plans for Client-side encryption across Google Workspace. The beta for trust rules for Drive will be rolling out in the coming months and will be available for Google Workspace Enterprise Plus and Education Plus customers. Eligible customers can now apply for the beta here.

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 

Why you’d use it 

Trust rules will help Admins to create more sophisticated and secure access policies which help ensure their data is shared with, and accessed by, desired parties. Some examples of how you could use Drive trust rules to better control collaboration include: 
  • Block your internal audit team from sharing files outside of their team. 
  • Warn your finance team when they share files with the sales team to help ensure that sharing is deliberate and thoughtful.
  • Allow your legal team to share with a specific group of external counsels, but not allow them to share with users outside of that group.
  • Prevent any users in your organization from receiving files from a specific external domain. 

Getting started

  • Admins: Learn more and apply for the beta here. The beta will start rolling out in the next few months, but once enabled, trust rules can be scoped at the domain, OU, or groups level with coverage of both My Drive and shared drives. If you are accepted into the beta program, you will get more documentation on the feature. 
  • End users: No end-user impact until their admin joins the beta and configures trust rule settings. 

Rollout pace 

  • The beta will start rolling out in the next few months, but eligible customers can now apply for the beta here. You’ll get more details via email when the beta is available to use. 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Customize the color of your folders and shortcuts to folders in Google Drive

What’s changing 

You can now customize the color of folders in shared drives, and shortcuts to folders. Previously, it was only possible to customize the color of folders in My Drive. 


Shared drives empower teams and organizations to store, access, and collaborate on files. Shortcuts are pointers to files that are stored in another folder or in another drive, which make it easy to surface content without creating copies of files. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins, end users, and developers 


Why you’d use it 

Assigning colors to specific folders can help you visually organize your Google Drive. For example, you can assign colors to your most important folders, making it easier to quickly navigate to them in Drive. 

Note: Custom folder colors in My Drive, shared drives, and shortcuts are only visible to you. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • Developers: You can use the Drive API to set folder colors. 
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about customizing folder colors. 


Rollout pace 

Google Drive on web 

Google Drive on mobile 
  • Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on June 3, 2021. 
  • Note: Requires app version 2.21.20 and up for Android and 4.2021.20204 and up for iOS 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers, and users with personal Google Accounts 


Resources 

Customize the color of your folders and shortcuts to folders in Google Drive

What’s changing 

You can now customize the color of folders in shared drives, and shortcuts to folders. Previously, it was only possible to customize the color of folders in My Drive. 


Shared drives empower teams and organizations to store, access, and collaborate on files. Shortcuts are pointers to files that are stored in another folder or in another drive, which make it easy to surface content without creating copies of files. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins, end users, and developers 


Why you’d use it 

Assigning colors to specific folders can help you visually organize your Google Drive. For example, you can assign colors to your most important folders, making it easier to quickly navigate to them in Drive. 

Note: Custom folder colors in My Drive, shared drives, and shortcuts are only visible to you. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • Developers: You can use the Drive API to set folder colors. 
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about customizing folder colors. 


Rollout pace 

Google Drive on web 

Google Drive on mobile 
  • Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on June 3, 2021. 
  • Note: Requires app version 2.21.20 and up for Android and 4.2021.20204 and up for iOS 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers, and users with personal Google Accounts 


Resources 

New iOS Data Protection setting protects data sharing between Google Workspace and personal Google accounts

What’s changing 

We’re adding a new admin setting which restricts data and content sharing between Google Workspace accounts and personal Google accounts in Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides on iOS. 

When the data protection setting is enabled, users can only share or save content–such as files, emails, or copied & pasted content—within Workspace accounts. This will protect users from sharing a file with their personal Google accounts or saving a file to their personal Google Drive. 



Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 

Google applications on iOS support multi-user logins, allowing users to access Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides with their personal and Google Workspace accounts. Giving admins the ability to control how data is shared across user accounts helps minimize accidental data sharing. Together with the previously released copy and paste and drag and drop restrictions, these security measures help increase the security of your corporate data on iOS. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the OU and domain level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about applying settings for iOS devices. 

  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. When enabled by your admin, you will be able to securely share enterprise Google Workspace content between your Google Workspace apps. 

Rollout pace 

  • Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: This feature is available now for all users. 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Insert smart chips for files and meetings, create checklists in Google Docs

What’s changing 

As part of our mission to build the future of work, today we announced smart canvas — a new product experience that will make it easier for people to stay connected, focus their time and attention, and transform their ideas into impact. 


In the coming months, we’ll be announcing new features and functionality to products like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. These new features will create a more flexible, interactive, and intelligent experience, enhancing the content and connections that fuel collaboration across Google Workspace. 


Beginning today, in Google Docs you can: 
  • Insert smart chips for Google Docs, Sheets, Slides files, other Google Drive files, and Calendar events 
  • Create checklists 
  • Insert links more easily with intelligent suggestions in the insert link dialog 

See below for more information. 

Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why it’s important 

In Google Docs, we’re adding new interactive building blocks to connect people, content, and events into one seamless experience: 


Smart chips are already available when you mention a person in a document, displaying additional information such as the person’s location, job title, and contact information. We’ve expanded this functionality to include the ability to insert smart chips for files and events. This makes it easy for your collaborators to quickly scan associated meetings and people, and preview linked documents all without context switching. 



Additionally, we’ve improved the insert link experience. You’ll now see intelligent suggestions for Drive files or headings and bookmarks within your document based on your highlighted text. 



You can also create checklists in Docs, making it easier to keep projects moving forward and track progress. 




Smart chips and Checklists are currently rolling out. Table templates, topic-voting tables, and the additional Checklist capabilities are coming soon.


Coming soon, you’ll be able to assign checklist action items to other people. Additionally, these checklists will appear in Google Tasks, making it easier for everyone to manage their part on a project’s To-Do list. We’ll provide an update on the Workspace Updates Blog when this becomes available. 

Additional details 

In the coming months, we plan to introduce more features like: 
  • Table templates to quickly insert various tables in Docs, such as topic-voting tables, where feedback can be seamlessly gathered in one place. 
  • Meeting note templates which will automatically import any relevant information from a Calendar meeting invite, including smart chips for attendees and files. 
  • Pageless format in Docs will allow you to remove the boundaries of a page to create an infinite surface to work on. 
  • Timeline view in Sheets that makes it easier and faster to track tasks by allowing you to organize your data by owner, category, campaign, or whichever attribute fits best. 

You can read more about these features on the Google Cloud Blog. Stay tuned to the Workspace Updates Blog, as we’ll provide updates here when these features become available. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin action required. 
  • End users: This feature will be available for all users. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using smart chips and checklists in Google Docs. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Edit details in line with Google Tasks on the web

Quick launch summary 

You can now add additional information to your personal tasks without opening the “Details” dialog box. We hope this change makes it faster and easier for you to add descriptions, assign dates and times, and organize your tasks. 


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 editing tasks on the web. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Changes to Google Workspace storage policies timeline

What’s changing

We’re extending the previously announced timeframe for upcoming changes to the Google Workspace storage policy. The updated timeline is:

  • June 1, 2021: High-quality photos will count towards Drive quota beginning June 1, 2021. There is no change to this timeline.
  • February 1, 2022: Any newly created Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, or Jamboard files will count toward storage. Existing files within these products will not count toward storage, unless they’re modified on or after February 1, 2022. Read more in our Help Center.

Note that there are no changes to the previously announced dates for personal Google accounts.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users. Storage limits differ across Google Workspace and G Suite editions, but we estimate that the majority of users will not be affected by these changes. See “Getting Started” below for more information on determining storage usage across your organization.

Why it’s important

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. These changes to our storage policy are necessary to provide our users with a great experience and to keep pace with the growing demand.



We recently announced changes to the pooled storage policy for Workspace for Education customers. As a part of these updates, to empower Google Workspace admins to adapt to this model and optimize their storage, we will provide new admin tools to identify and manage how storage is used and allocated before the policy goes into effect. We’ve decided to delay the count of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, or Jamboard files count toward storage quotas until that tooling is in place.

Getting started


Rollout pace

High-quality photos
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, and Jamboard

Availability

  • These changes will apply to all customers with Google Workspace and G Suite licenses.

Resources

Find files shared with you using updated search operators in Google Drive

What’s changing

We’re updating how some search operators work in Google Drive to make finding shared files easier. This includes adding new search operators and changing the behavior of some existing search operators. You’ll still be able to perform all the same searches, just the operators you’ll use for them may change. The specific changes are:
  • “from:” will now return files shared with you by the specified email address. Previously, it would have returned files owned by that email address.
  • “to:” will now return files that you have shared with the specified email address. Previously, it would have returned all files that the email address had permissions to view, comment, or edit.
  • “sharedwith:” is a new search operator which will return files that the specified email address owns or has permission to view, comment or edit.
  • “owner:” returns files owned by the specified email address. There is no change to this operator, but you can use it to return the results you would previously have used the “from:” operator for.


Who’s impacted

End users, and developers

Why you’d use it

We’ve heard that finding files in Google Drive can be difficult because there are so many ways to remember a file: by its type, by its title, by who owns it, and more. We’ve added a number of features to help finding files, including an intelligent search box for Google Drive on the web, mobile search improvements, file suggestions in Chrome, and much more.

In addition, we know how important it is to be able to easily find files shared with others while collaborating in Google Workspace. Our user research suggests that this is actually one of the most memorable aspects to use when finding a file. These updates to our search operators will enable more specific searches to find files shared with you and by you, and will help you find those files more quickly using more memorable details about the file.




Additional details

  • Searches for from: and to: will not return files that were shared prior to February 2021.
  • Vault admins have been notified separately about their changes.

Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: The updates to search operator behavior will take place by default. Visit the Help Center to learn more about advanced search features in Google Drive.

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, and G Suite Basic and Business customers.

Resources