Tag Archives: Google Vault

New interface for Google Vault

Quick launch summary 

We’ve designed a new interface for Google Vault. The new interface makes it easier to navigate, and includes new productivity features for faster task completion. To use the new interface, visit vault.google.com and sign in with your Google Workspace admin account. 

The new interface includes all the core functionality from the classic interface, and there’s no impact on your existing Google Vault setup. The main interface improvements include the following: 
  • When you first sign in, you’re directed to a home page with up to three options (depending on your permissions): Retention, Matters, and Reporting. 
  • When you set up retention rules and holds, step-by-step flows with more tooltips guide you through the process. 
  • Custom retention rules, holds, and search results are listed in sortable, filterable tables. This helps you more easily understand the scope of your information governance policies and search results. 
  • When you explore search results and hold reports, you keep your context. Clicking an item opens a side panel instead of taking you to a new page. 

The classic interface is still available at ediscovery.google.com. Matters, retention rules, and audit log data will sync between the interfaces and be available in both places until ediscovery.google.com is shut down. We’ll provide more details regarding this turndown on the Workspace Updates blog at least three months in advance. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: The new interface is available at vault.google.com. Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing Google Vault for your organization. Note that users in the classic interface may see a banner inviting them to try the new interface starting on December 3, 2020. 
  • End users: No end user impact. 
When you first sign in, you’ll now see a home page with up to three options: Retention, Matters, and Reporting. 

Custom rules are now listed in a sortable, filterable table. 

You’ll see a new interface for creating and managing rules. 

Rollout pace 

  • This feature is available now for all users. 

Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus customers, G Suite Business and Enterprise for Education customers, and customers with the Vault add-on license 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, and Business Standard customers, as well as G Suite Basic, Education, and Nonprofit customers 

Resources 

Changes to Google Chat group conversations and classic Hangouts coming December 3, 2020

What’s changing

Starting December 3, 2020, we’ll make three changes to how group conversations work in Google Chat:
  • Add and change members. You’ll be able to add and change members of new group conversations.
  • Different Google Vault retention policy. If you have a Vault retention policy set, the updated group conversations will respect a different retention policy.
  • Compatibility with classic Hangouts. Group conversations in Hangouts will begin to appear in Google Chat over the coming weeks.
See below for more information on each of these updates.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it

As we announced earlier this year, starting in the first half of 2021, everyone can begin upgrading from Hangouts to Chat. To ensure a smooth transition, we will help automatically migrate your Hangouts conversations and saved history. These changes further ensure compatibility between classic Hangouts and Chat to make migrating your users as seamless as possible.

Additional details

Updated group conversations
When a new member is added to a group conversation, all members will see a message announcing the new member. The new member will be able to see the entire conversation, even messages sent before they entered, allowing them to catch up easily.



If you have a group conversation created before December 3, you can easily create an updated conversation with the same people using the “Start a new chat” option in the conversation settings menu.


History and retention settings
While end users can toggle history on and off at the conversation level, admins can control whether to keep chat history for users in their organization. They can set the default and also let users change their history setting for each conversation.

Note that these updated group conversations will also respect a different retention policy in Vault. If you set custom Chat retention rules in Google Vault, the scope of coverage will change. Rules set for “All Chat Spaces” (previously known as “All Rooms”) will apply to existing chat rooms, plus updated group messages and group messages that synchronize between Chat and Hangouts. Visit the Help Center for more details.

Compatibility with classic Hangouts
Group conversations in Hangouts—beginning with conversations, followed by message history—will begin to appear in Google Chat over the coming weeks. This will allow your users to move from Hangouts to Chat without losing context. In addition, 1:1 messages, updated group conversations, and unthreaded rooms from Chat will begin to appear in Hangouts (Note: this change will only be available for users with Hangouts enabled).

Getting started

  • Admins: We recommend you review your existing retention rules and evaluate if you need to change them to retain only the message data you want. You can also visit the Help Center to learn more about turning history in Chat on or off for your organization.
  • End users: Membership in these updated group conversations will be editable by default starting December 3, 2020.

Rollout pace

Updated group conversations
Compatibility with classic Hangouts

Availability

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

Resources

Use the Count API to estimate Vault API export sizes

Quick launch summary 

We’re adding a Count API to the Vault API. The Count API enables you to see the number of messages, files, or other data items that match a search query. 


You can use the number of items to estimate the size of the export, and then choose to proceed with the export or adjust the query to retrieve fewer items. This can help ensure a successful export by reducing the likelihood of export errors due to size. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: Visit the API documentation to learn more about the Count API and review an example. 
  • End users: No end user impact. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise for Education, as well as other customers with the Vault add-on license 
  • Not available to Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Education, and Nonprofits customers  

Resources 

Roadmap 

Ensure that Google Vault captures all emails in your domain

What you should know

To ensure that copies of all sent or received messages in your domain are stored in the associated users' Gmail mailboxes, you should set up comprehensive mail storage in the Admin console. This is not a new setting, but we’ve learned that some G Suite admins don’t realize it’s disabled by default.

Who’s impacted

Admins only

Why you’d use it

Storing these emails in Gmail mailboxes means that your Vault retention policies and holds, as well as searches and exports for Gmail, will include these emails. Examples of emails sent or received in your domain include mail sent from Calendar and Drive and other G Suite services.

How to get started



Additional details

One example of email captured by comprehensive mail storage is email written in Calendar. For instance, it’s sometimes useful to email all or a subset of the people in a meeting invite. If you click the "Email Guests" icon, it will send an email from your email address. You have the option to email all guests, target people based on RSVP status, and/or send a copy to yourself. There are no CC, BCC, or attachment options, but the details of the calendar event will be included in the email.

If you uncheck “Send copy to me” and the comprehensive mail storage option is disabled in your domain, a copy of the sent message will not be stored in any Gmail mailbox. If comprehensive mail storage is enabled in your domain, a copy of the sent message will be stored in your Sent mailbox.

Helpful links

Help Center: Set up comprehensive mail storage

Availability

Rollout details


G Suite editions

  • Comprehensive mail storage is available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise, G Suite for Education, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits.
  • Vault is available to G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and any G Suite users with add-on Vault licenses.

On/off by default?

  • Comprehensive mail storage is OFF by default and can be enabled at the OU level.

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Google Vault API updates to replace Team Drives fields

What’s changing 

We recently updated the Vault API to reflect the renaming of “Team Drives” to “shared drives.” You can see more details on the name change here.

The new fields in the API are detailed below. Currently, both the old and updated fields are available. However, we will stop supporting the old fields in the API on June 1, 2020. You will need to migrate any app(s) that use the affected fields before June 1, 2020, to make sure they continue to work.

The specific changes to the API are:


Who’s impacted 

Admins and developers only

Why you’d use it 

Google Vault is the eDiscovery and compliance solution for G Suite, allowing customers to retain, hold, search, and export their data. The API means you can programmatically manage your organization's eDiscovery operations. If you’ve developed apps that use the API, you may need to make minor updates to make sure they keep working as intended.

How to get started 




Helpful links 




Availability 

Rollout details 
  • New “shared drives” fields are available today.
  • We will stop supporting the old “Team Drives” related API fields on June 1, 2020.


G Suite editions
  • Google Vault is available to G Suite Business, Enterprise, Education, and Enterprise for Education editions, as well as other G Suite customers with the Vault add-on license.


Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Search and export new Sites with Vault beta

What’s changing 

You can use Vault to search and export content in new Google Sites with a new beta program. Note that the beta will only support Vault’s search and export functionality, it will not support Vault’s holds and retention functionality.

Use our Help Center to find out more, or apply to join the beta here.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

Customers that sign up for the beta will be able to find content in new Sites, preview and navigate through the site in the Vault interface, and export sites for further analysis. This can expand your organization’s archiving and eDiscovery by adding content from new Sites.

How to get started 


Additional details 


Details of actions available in the beta 

Search for content in new Sites. You can search for Sites alongside other Drive content, or use the operator type:site to target just Sites data in Google Drive.


Find specific sites by their published URLs. Use our Help Center to learn more about searching for Sites data in Vault.


Preview and navigate through the site in the Vault interface, and export sites for further analysis.

 
Scope of functionality available through the beta: 

  • Vault only supports content in new Sites. Classic Sites content is not supported. 
  • Only the most recent version of the draft site will be available for search and export in Vault. 
  • This could be different from the published version of the site, as unpublished changes would be included. 
  •  This beta program only provides access to search and export functionality for new Sites, and does not include retention or hold functionality. 

Helpful links 



Availability 

Rollout details 


G Suite editions 

  • Available to G Suite Business, Enterprise, and Enterprise for Education editions, as well as other G Suite customers with the Vault add-on license 


On/off by default? 



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Apply to be a part of the Hangouts Chat Accelerated Transition Program

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.


What’s changing

We’re announcing an Accelerated Transition Program to give a first wave of organizations a head start on migrating to Hangouts Chat and get early access to new features.

Additionally, we've heard your feedback, and we want to give you early access and more time before the general availability of these features. Therefore, we’re extending the previously announced timelines to give you more time to manage change in your organization. See below for more information.

Who’s impacted

Admins only

Why you should apply to the Accelerated Transition Program

Simplify communications by disabling classic Hangouts apps and migrating all users to the newest enterprise-grade Chat product on a faster timeline. As a part of this program, you’ll receive early access to new Chat features such as Chat integration with Gmail and the ability to chat with external users.

For more information about the additional benefits of this program, check out the Acceleration Transition Program Help Center.

How to get started



Upcoming changes to the Chat and Vault transition schedule

Some changes originally scheduled to happen starting on April 16, 2019, such as Chat retention rules and holds applying to your messages in Hangouts Classic, and enabling Chat for all users that are using classic Hangouts, will now take place over the next few months. We'll also be giving you more time before we transition all domains from classic Hangouts to Chat. More notices and details will be shared on the G Suite Updates blog as they approach.

Note: If you are a Google Vault customer, you still must set Chat retention rules and holds before April 16, 2019. You must continue to create new holds in both Mail and Hangouts Chat if you need to preserve chat messages during this migration period.


Helpful links



Availability

G Suite editions

  • All G Suite editions are welcome to apply to this program.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Use Vault for Gmail confidential messages and Jamboard files

What’s changing 

Google Vault is adding support for two new types of content:

  • Gmail confidential mode emails - If your users send or receive messages in Gmail confidential mode (currently available for G Suite as a beta program,) Vault will retain, preserve, search and export confidential mode messages as per the details below. 
  • Jamboard files stored in Google Drive - Vault will automatically retain and preserve Jamboard files (‘jams”) according to the retention rules and holds set for Google Drive, and let you search and export these files. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

Google Vault lets you retain, hold, search, and export data to support your organization’s retention and eDiscovery needs. This launch adds support for new data types so that you can comprehensively govern your organization’s data.

How to get started  




Additional details 


Support for Gmail confidential mode emails 
Gmail confidential mode lets users restrict recipients' access to sensitive email content. This feature is available to G Suite domains through our Gmail confidential Beta program.

Vault and confidential messages sent by members of your organization - Vault can hold, retain, search, and export all confidential mode messages sent by users in your organization. Messages are always available to Vault, even when the sender sets an expiration date or revokes recipients' access to confidential messages.

Here’s an example of what [email protected] will see in Vault when they search for [email protected] and preview this email sent by [email protected].


Vault and confidential messages received from external senders - Your users might receive confidential mode messages from external parties such as other G Suite customers and from personal Gmail accounts. You can hold, retain, search and export message headers and subjects of external confidential messages. However, you can't search or export message content or attachments from external confidential messages.

Here’s an example of what [email protected] will see in Vault when they search for [email protected], and preview this email sent by an external domain ([email protected]).


See our Help Center for more information on Vault and Gmail confidential mode. You can also see how to protect Gmail messages with confidential mode.

Support for Jamboard files (“jams”) stored in Google Drive 

With this launch, you’ll be able to manage Jamboard files that have been saved to a user’s Google Drive:

  • Retain Jamboard data through Vault with the same retention rules that you set for Google Drive. All your retention rules set for Drive will automatically apply to jams in Drive. 
  • Preserve Jamboard data through Drive holds. 
  • Search for Jamboard data in Vault, alongside other Drive files, or only search Jamboard files with the “type:jam” search operator. You can also preview jams and export them. 

See our Help Center for to see how to set retention rules for Drive, which will also apply to jams. 

Helpful links 




Availability 

Rollout details 

Vault support for Jamboard 


Vault support for Gmail Confidential in beta is completely rolled out to all domains.

G Suite editions 
Available to G Suite Business, Enterprise, and Enterprise for Education editions, as well as G Suite users with the Vault add-on license

On/off by default?
This feature will be ON.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Easily copy your Gmail holds to Hangouts Chat in Google Vault

What’s changing

As we previously announced, beginning on April 16, 2019, Mail retention rules and holds will stop protecting chat messages in classic Hangouts. Instead, Hangouts Chat retention rules and holds will protect chat messages in both classic Hangouts and Chat. To continue to preserve messages in classic Hangouts, before April 16, 2019, you must copy any existing Mail holds (that apply to messages in classic Hangouts) to Hangouts Chat in Google Vault. Today, we’re launching a new feature in Vault to help you copy your holds from Mail to Hangouts Chat, with a few clicks.

Who’s impacted

Vault Admins only

Why you’d use it

This feature helps you ensure all your messages in classic Hangouts and Hangouts Chat are preserved by the same Vault policies as your classic Hangouts messages are today.

How to get started

Admins: In Vault,
  • From the list of Vault matters, click on any matter that may contain Gmail holds. When viewing the list of holds in this matter, you can select multiple Mail holds at once.
  • Select the Mail hold(s) and click Copy holds to Hangouts Chat.


End users: No action required

Additional details

Note that Hangouts Chat doesn’t support holds based on date ranges or search terms, so they won’t be copied with the hold. You can also choose to extend these holds to cover conversations associated with these custodians in rooms.

Additionally, if you have a large number of holds in place, you can also use Vault APIs to duplicate your holds in bulk.

Helpful links

Availability

Rollout details

G Suite editions
  • Available to G Suite Business, Enterprise, and Enterprise for Education editions, as well as G Suite users with the Vault add-on license.

On/off by default?
  • This feature will be ON by default.
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Upcoming Hangouts service consolidation for all G Suite customers

What’s changing

As we announced in 2017, Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet are the next generation of Hangouts that focus on team communication. Later this year, we'll transition classic Hangouts users on G Suite domains to Chat and Meet. As a first step, some changes are coming on April 16, 2019.

Key dates to note

G Suite customers can expect the following timeline of changes:
  • April 16, 2019 – Several changes that may require administrator action (see below for details).
  • Between April and September 2019 – Features from classic Hangouts will come to Chat.
  • October 2019 – Start retiring classic Hangouts for G Suite customers.


Consumer impact
The above dates are specific to G Suite customers and their end users who use classic Hangouts. We will continue to support consumer use of classic Hangouts, and expect to transition consumers to free Chat and Meet following the transition of G Suite customers. A more specific timeline will be communicated at a later date.

What changes will take place on April 16, 2019?
For G Suite domains that have classic Hangouts enabled, Chat will also become available to users on the web and via mobile apps. They can also continue using classic Hangouts in Gmail, mobile, web or the Chrome extension. See these details for how interoperability works between Chat and classic Hangouts.

The following admin-facing changes will begin taking place on April 16, 2019:
  1. For Google Vault customers, Mail retention rules and holds will stop protecting chat messages in classic Hangouts. Instead, Chat retention rules and holds will protect chat messages in both classic Hangouts and Chat.
  2. Chat admin settings will now control chat capability in both classic Hangouts and Chat.
  3. A new setting in the Admin console under Apps > G Suite > Hangouts Chat will be added so you can disable classic Hangouts user interfaces at a time of your choosing.
  4. The "Google Hangouts" settings page in the Admin console will be renamed "Hangouts Meet." This setting will control both classic Hangouts video and Hangouts Meet.

Google Vault customers need to take action before April 16, 2019
Between March 16 and April 16, 2019, Vault customers that have any Mail retention rules or holds will have an indefinite retention rule automatically created for Chat. This rule is to protect all your chat messages in classic Hangouts when Chat rules start protecting them on April 16, 2019. Before April 16, 2019, you must:

  • Review and set new retention rules for Chat in Google Vault.
  • Duplicate any existing Mail holds for Chat in Google Vault.
  • Set any new holds on chat messages from Chat in Google Vault.
  • Once you have set your preferred retention rules and holds for Chat, in order for them to take effect, remove the indefinite retention rule that may be overriding your rules.

If you don’t take set your preferred retention rules or holds in Chat and then remove the indefinite retention rule by April 16, 2019, all your chat messages in classic Hangouts and direct messages in Chat will be retained indefinitely. Refer to this Help Center article to learn more about completing these actions.

What will happen in October 2019?
Classic Hangouts will be retired for all G Suite customers starting in October 2019 and all remaining users will be transitioned to Chat. More notices and details will be shared on the G Suite Updates blog in the future. In order to make the transition easier for your users, you can review our Chat documentation.


What is the best time to move my users to Hangouts Chat?
You can transition your users immediately if you’d like. If there’s more functionality that your organization needs before switching, rest assured that between April and September 2019, we’ll add features that will make it easier for your users to move from classic Hangouts to Chat such as:

  • Integration with Gmail
  • Chatting with external users
  • An improved video calling experience
  • Making calls with Google Voice

We will communicate availability of these new features via the G Suite Updates blog so stay tuned!

Helpful links


Stay up to date with G Suite launches