Tag Archives: Google Drive

Set client-side encryption as the default mode for new emails, events, and files

What’s changing

Admins can now set client-side encryption (CSE) to be on by default for:

  • Newly created Gmail messages, Google Calendar events. 
  • Newly created Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files.
  • Newly uploaded Google Drive files.

Admins can set client-side encryption as default on for users in Organizational Units (OUs) that regularly handle sensitive data requiring additional encryption. This allows organizations the flexibility to meet their compliance and regulatory requirements and reduce the burden on change management programs. Users are prompted to create a CSE object natively in each app meaning their emails, events and files are encrypted by default with customer-managed keys and are private from Google. For organizations with strict regulatory or sovereignty needs, this can help them close compliance gaps by defaulting users to the preferred mode for handling sensitive data.  

Drive:


Gmail:

This is available on the web initially, with support coming for mobile apps in the future. 

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users


Why it matters

This feature is important for Google Workspace admins as it improves users compliance behavior without sacrificing productivity and increases control for admins implementing data control policies. It also includes improved audit logs, providing more detail for admins compiling regulatory compliance reports.

Workspace already uses the latest cryptographic standards to encrypt data by default, at rest and in transit between our facilities. Client-side encryption goes beyond this, giving organizations authoritative control and privacy as the sole owner of private encryption keys and the identity provider of the encryption keys. It gives organizations higher confidence that any third party, including Google and foreign governments, cannot access their confidential data. Users can continue to collaborate across their preferred apps in Workspace while IT and compliance teams can ensure that sensitive data stays compliant with regulations. 


Getting started

Rollout pace


Availability

  • Google Workspace Assured Controls is available as an add-on to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers only. For more information, contact your Google account representative.

Resources


Admins in Google Vault can now export hyperlinked Google Drive content from Gmail messages

What’s changing 

Starting December 8, 2023, admins can export Drive files hyperlinked in Gmail messages directly in Google Vault. When admins select “export linked Drive files”, Vault will look for Drive hyperlinks in the body of the emails being exported from Gmail. If Drive hyperlinks are found, a separate export of Drive files will also be created.


Toggle “Export linked Drive files” on or off



In the “Exports” tab, Drive exports will be grouped with their corresponding Gmail export — you can select the arrow icon to open the collapsible menu.






Admins will be able to find their exported hyperlinked Drive content nested under the corresponding Gmail export in the “Export” tab. Vault admins can find the association between the Gmail export and Drive link export in the export file names and metadata. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins 


Why it matters 

Vault is critical for retaining, holding, searching, and exporting users’ Google Workspace data. This update reduces the need for admins to manually find and extract Drive files hyperlinked in Gmail messages. 

Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Vault user interface updates 
API updates 

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus customers or customers with the Vault add-on license

Resources 

Introducing a new homepage view in Google Drive

What’s changing

Over the years, we’ve added features to Google Drive that help you more efficiently find files and folders. In October, we launched a new view in Google Drive that shows all pending access requests, recent comments, and approvals for files to help you quickly see recent activity and take action, all in one place. 

Today, we’re excited to introduce the latest series of changes that accelerate user productivity across new views in Drive. A new streamlined homepage for Drive called Home makes it easier and faster for you to find files that matter most. Specifically, you’ll notice: 

  • Personalized file and folder suggestions with machine learning algorithms that can help you get started quickly. These suggestions utilize a variety of signals, such as what files or folders you’ve recently opened, shared or edited, or what documents are attached to upcoming Calendar events. 
  • Filter chips to narrow down your search and find relevant files faster across Drive, making it easy to find suggested files by type, people, modified date or the location. 
  • A more modern design inline with Google Material Design 3 guidelines that helps you navigate across Drive much more efficiently.

Google Drive Home

Who’s impacted

End users 


Why you’d use it 

The new Google Drive Home page will make it easier and faster for you to find the files you need and collaborate with others. 


Additional details 

When you go to drive.google.com, instead of landing in ‘My Drive’ you will now be directed to ‘Home.’ If you would like to set your default to ‘My Drive,’ click on the “Change to My Drive” option in the banner on Home: 
“Change to My Drive”


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be ON by default and can be opted-out by the user. If a user chooses to opt-out, their default page will be My Drive. To opt-out, go to My Drive and click on the “Change to My Drive” option in the banner. 

Rollout pace 

  • Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on November 28, 2023 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on January 11, 2024 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
    • Note: The Drive Activity view is available to Google Workspace customers only

Updates to the Google Drive scanner on Android & iOS devices

What’s changing

For years, users have had the ability to scan physical documents, such as a receipt or passport, using the Google Drive app on Android devices. And earlier this year, we added additional functionality to recommend relevant title suggestions for scanned documents by leveraging machine learning. 

Today, we’re introducing additional enhancements to the Drive scanner on Android devices, which now powers the Google Pixel camera and includes improvements to the scanner experience when capturing content. Specifically, you’ll notice: 
  • Automatic capture to help you get the best scan quickly 
  • Camera viewfinder that helps you position your document for the highest quality scan 
  • The option to import from your camera roll 
  • A faster way to initialize a scan with a new scanner button 
Android Scanner

We’re also expanding the Google Drive scanner and title suggestion feature to iOS devices. Now, when using your iOS phone or tablet, you can easily scan and digitally organize physical documents, crop them if needed, and receive relevant title suggestions based on machine learning. 
iOS Scanner


Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • Open the Drive app on your Android device > scan a document via the camera icon or scan a document via the Scan button under the “+” icon > assess/adjust the automatic cropping > scan multiple pages in a session (if needed) > apply filters > save to Drive. 
    • Open the Drive app on your iOS device > scan a document via the camera icon or scan a document via the Scan button under the “+” icon > > scan multiple pages in a session (if needed) > click on scan to apply filters or crop as needed > save to Drive. 
    • Note: Title suggestions are only available in the US. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about scanning documents with Google Drive. 

Rollout pace

iOS: 
Android: 
  •  This feature is now available 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – November 17, 2023

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.


Enhancing Google Drive usability on large screen Android devices 
Building upon improvements to the Google Workspace experience on large screen Android devices, we’re excited to announce additional enhancements that bring our tablet experience more inline with our web experience. Specifically, you'll notice: 
  • Above the main doclist, users will now see a tappable folder hierarchy for their current view. This allows a user to keep track of where they are in Drive and easily navigate out of nested folders. 
  • Per-file data columns to show when a file was last modified and how much storage is used by each file. 
  • A color palette that matches the Google Material Design 3 guidelines. 
Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for November 27th, 2023. | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Learn more about using Google Drive. 
Enhancing Google Drive usability on large screen Android devices
Expanding Google Drive log events to additional Google Workspace editions 
Drive log events, a feature that enables admins to access an audit and investigation page to run searches related to Drive log events, is now available for Google Workspace Cloud Identity Free and Cloud Identity Premium editions. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at an extended pace (potentially longer than 30 days for feature visibility). | Learn more about Drive log events. 


Easily convert hyperlinked text to smart chips using the tab key in Google Sheets 
Building upon the tab to convert feature in Google Sheets, when your hyperlinked text matches the text of a smart chip in Sheets, you will now be prompted to convert an inserted file, people, calendar event, Youtube or place link into a smart chip. For example, if the hyperlinked text is a file name, Sheets will automatically recommend converting it to a file chip. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at a gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility). | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Learn more about inserting smart chips in Google Sheets. 
Easily convert hyperlinked text to smart chips using the tab key in Google Sheets
More languages available for Google Meet captions 
You can now use captions in Google Meet in Finnish & Hebrew. You can use captions to view subtitles as everyone speaks during a meeting — captions are only visible to you. Note that because this is a newly supported language, it will be denoted with a “beta” tag as we continue to optimize performance. See our Help Center for a complete list of supported languages for captions in Meet. We’ve also removed the “beta” tag from the following languages, as they have been validated and are out of beta: 
  • English (UK) 
  • French (Canada) 
  • Thai 
  • Vietnamese 
  • Polish 
  • Romanian 
  • Turkish 
Available now to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about using captions in Google Meet.


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.



Take action on Google Drive requests and comments directly in Google Chat 
You can now collaborate more easily on Docs, Sheets and Slides comments without ever leaving Chat. | Learn more about Drive comments and requests in Chat.

AppSheet smart chips for Google Docs 
You can now insert smart chips for AppSheet content into documents, allowing you to access AppSheet data directly into Docs. | Learn more about AppSheet smart chips. 

View full screen tasks lists on Google Calendar 
You will now be able to see all your tasks and task lists in a single full screen view on Calendar web. | Learn more about full screen tasks lists in Calendar. 

Star important messages in Google Chat 
Following the recent announcement of home and mentions in Google Chat, we’re excited to introduce starred on web, an additional shortcut in the redesigned navigation panel that helps you stay on top of your most important messages in Chat. | Learn more about starring messages in Chat.

Read and write out of office and focus time events using the Calendar API
In addition to reading and writing working location data, we’re expanding the Calendar API functionality to encompass out of office and focus time data. | Learn more about using the Calendar API.

Improved search query suggestions in Google Chat web
In conjunction with recent updates to search in Google Chat, we’re introducing enhanced search query suggestions, a feature already available on mobile, that helps you find the right message, person, file, or space in Chat on the web. | Learn more about searching in Chat.


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: 
Scheduled Release Domains: 
Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 


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



  

Take action on Google Drive requests and comments directly in Google Chat

What’s changing

Currently, you can use the Google Drive Chat app to get read-only notifications in Chat about activity in Drive, such as comments and share requests. Starting today, we’re adding the following improvements:
  • Reply to and resolve comments in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides directly from Chat 
  • Show more of the comment thread so you can have more context while replying 
  • @mention your colleagues easily while replying to comments 
With these updates, you can collaborate more easily on Docs, Sheets and Slides without ever leaving Chat.
Take action on Google Drive requests and comments directly in Google Chat


Getting started 


Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Resources 

Introducing a new homepage in the Google Drive app

What’s changing

We’re updating the homepage of the Google Drive mobile app on Android and iOS mobile devices to help you more easily find the right file much faster. 

An updated suggested view will allow you to see even more recommended files at once, such as those that have been recently opened, shared or edited. 

The Suggested view
Suggested view

In addition, we’re replacing the notifications view with activity view, which recently launched on web. Here you can see items that need your attention such as pending access requests, recent comments, and awaiting approvals, all in one place. 

The Activity view

activity view


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. If you do not want to use the home tab, the app will simply open up on whatever tab you last used, such as Shared or Files. 

Rollout pace 

Android: 
iOS: 

Availability 

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

Filter by people or groups in Google Drive

What’s changing

We’re adding a new filter to Google Drive that lets you see which files or folders have been shared with specific people or groups. 

Whether you’re trying to share a file with more audiences or reduce oversharing, this feature will give you greater visibility into who has access to files within and outside of your organization. 
Filter by people or groups in Google Drive

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. The groups that appear in the People filter are based on the target audiences set up at the domain level by admins.  
  • End users: 
    • To find files shared with a person or group in drive.google.com: 
      • Navigate to My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, or Recent
      • Click on “People” filter
      • Search for a person or group who the files are shared with in the filter
      • Select “Shared with”
      • View the filtered list of files
    • To find files shared outside of your organization: 
      • Navigate to My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, or Recent
      • Click on “People” filter
      • Select “External users”
      • View the filtered list of files
    • To find files you own that are shared with a specific person or group: 
      • Navigate to My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, or Recent
      • Click on “People” filter
      • Search for yourself and select “Owner”
      • Click on “People” filter
      • Search for a person or group who the files are shared with in the filter
      • View the filtered list of files

Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – October 27, 2023

1 New update

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.


Adding a two-page view for PDFs in the Google Drive app on large screen Android devices 
You can now flip between a single page width view or a newly added two-page width view when scrolling through a PDF using the Google Drive app on your Android tablet or foldable device. This side by side view of the PDF will resemble a book, providing a better viewing experience on large screen Android devices. | Available now to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.
Adding a two-page view for PDFs in the Google Drive app on large screen Android devices


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.



Changes to YouTube player embedded within Google Workspace for Education services 
We are removing a previous feature while we evaluate performance and quality. As an immediate next step, if you updated your allowlist or blocklist to include "www.youtube.com", you’ll need to revert your allowlist/blocklist to include "www.youtube.com" as soon as possible to preserve the way your organization uses YouTube videos within Google Workspace for Education services. | This impacts Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade | Learn more about changes to YouTube player embedded within Google Workspace for Education services. 


Introducing an updated and more inclusive emoji picker in Gmail 
You can now access a more complete emoji selection and set emoji skin tone and gender preferences with the modernized emoji picker in the web version of Gmail. | Learn more about emojis 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: 

Scheduled Release Domains: 

Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 

Upcoming changes to third-party cookie requirements in Google Drive

What’s changing 

Google Chrome and other browsers have begun phasing out third-party cookies in order to better protect user privacy. Starting January 2, 2024, Drive will start serving downloads without requiring third-party cookies. 

If you have specific workflows in place that rely on Drive’s download URLs or use an app which relies on Drive’s download URLs, you’ll need to switch to the Drive and Docs publishing flows by January 2, 2024. Specific instructions are below. 


Who’s impacted

Admins, end users and developers 


Why it’s important 

Serving downloads without requiring third-party cookies will work to improve usability, security, and privacy for Drive users. 


Additional details

Learn more about how to audit your code to look for third-party cookies and what action you can take to ensure you're all set for the end of third-party cookies here. 


Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users and developers: 
    • Use an iframe (HTML element that loads another HTML page within the document) on your website to load the content. You can do this by going to the file in Drive and taking the next relevant step: 
      • For Workspace files (Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms file types) use the Google Docs publishing URL of the file. 
      • For other files, once opened in Drive, select “Open in new window” from the overflow menu, and then open the overflow menu and select “Embed item…”, which provides the iframe HTML tag. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • This impacts all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
 

Resources