Tag Archives: Other

Upcoming changes to Brazilian account recovery and 2SV phone numbers for G Suite users

As the number of global mobile phone users continues to grow, countries have begun modifying their existing telephone numbering plans in order to expand the set of available phone numbers. When this happens, all impacted phone users gain a modified or appended digit on their mobile or landline phone numbers. After a period of time, their old numbers are no longer able to receive messages or calls.

As announced by ANATEL, Brazil recently completed a modification to its telephone numbering plan and affected numbers now contain an extra digit.

To prevent G Suite users with affected Brazilian phone numbers from being locked out of their accounts, Google will be updating their account recovery and two-step verification (2SV) phone numbers to include the extra digit in the coming weeks. These numbers will be updated based on the scheme published by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). No action is required on the part of the user, and they will receive email and phone notifications describing the changes, including their updated numbers. Note that users can update their phone numbers anytime in their phone number or two-step verification settings.

Moving forward, to ensure continued access to accounts, Google plans to continue to make these modifications on behalf of G Suite users when they are impacted by changes to telephone numbering plans in their countries.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release in the coming weeks. Please monitor the G Suite release calendar for specific timing.

Editions:
Applicable to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users with impacted Brazilian phone numbers

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI


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An update on the classic Google Sites deprecation timeline

When we launched the new Google Sites last year, we promised to share more information in 2017 on how to migrate from the classic version of Sites. Today, we want to give you a better sense of what’s coming and when, so you can effectively plan for the eventual shutdown of the classic Sites product.

Migration tools

In Q4 2017, we’ll launch features in the classic Sites that will help site owners migrate their content to the new Sites. In 2018, we’ll provide tools that will enable G Suite admins to effectively manage the migration process. Stay tuned for more details on these features and tools later this year.

Deprecation timeline

We plan to take your feedback on these migration tools into account when scheduling the deprecation and shutdown of the classic Sites. With that mind, we’ll only announce a firm timeline after the migration process is underway for many customers.

A few things to note:

  • Once announced, the deprecation schedule will include at least one year of unchanged operation followed by three months of read-only operation. Migration will be possible throughout, including during the read-only phase.
  • When the read-only phase ends, all unmigrated sites will be preserved as a takeout archive.
  • Before deprecating the classic Sites, we’ll ensure that the new Sites includes several features necessary for team sites, portals, knowledge bases, and intranets. These will include at least the following:
    • Search a site
    • Restrict access to published sites
    • More granular access to different sections of sites
    • Embed URLs and code in sites
    • Notifications of site updates
    • Create larger sites, including deeper hierarchy
    • Corporate themes
    • More text formatting options
    • Custom web addresses
    • API capabilities

Follow the G Suite Updates Blog for additional details when these new features and migration tools launch.

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Updates to Admin console to always show the latest data, “date picker” being removed

This week's Admin console release changes the default behavior of the Highlights, Aggregate Reports, and Security reports in the Admin console to always show the latest available metrics for each data source. Before, these reports were filtered on a default date in the past that contained the first complete set of reports, which may have included delayed metrics even when more up to date information was available. Going forward, we’ll remove the date picker and always show you the latest available metrics and notify you when metrics are delayed.

Benefits:
  • Under the Highlights section, you can now see the latest data for each metric.
  • Under Apps Usage, Document Link Shared Status, User Status, Storage, and Security Reports, we’ll display “Latest data available for: ” for the relevant metric when you hover over the metric.
  • A '*' symbol may appear next to stale metric values under each section, indicating when data may be delayed compared to other metrics in the same section.
Please note: At this time the Reporting API is not affected by this change. We will notify you of any future API changes.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release on April 19

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center


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Update: Refreshing the Google Accounts login page

We previously announced that a new Google Accounts login page, aimed at giving users an improved experience to sign in to their accounts across devices, would start slowly rolling out on April 5, 2017.

Based on customer feedback, we’ve decided to push the start of that rollout back to April 10, 2017, so we can further clarify how this change will impact G Suite customers.

What’s changing for all G Suite customers
The Google Accounts login page will have a new look and feel, consistent across computers, phones, and tablets. The rollout will start with a small set of users on April 10 and ramp up slowly over the course of several weeks.


Additional changes for customers not using a third-party SSO provider
In addition to the design changes described above, the new Google Accounts login page will also remove the “Stay signed in” checkbox that at certain times appeared for G Suite customers who did not use a third-party SSO provider.


We learned that users didn’t fully understand the implications of interacting with the "Stay signed in" checkbox across all browsers. To mitigate confusion, we're removing the checkbox and users will remain signed in unless they specifically sign out. When using shared or public devices, we recommend using private browsing windows.

Additional changes for customers using a third-party SSO provider when accessing third-party applications

If you’re using a third-party SSO provider to access Google applications, such as Gmail, Calendar, Drive, etc., your G Suite users will not see any differences apart from the newly designed Google Accounts login page described above.

If you’re using a third-party SSO provider to access third-party applications, your G Suite users will see an additional account selection page when they log in. This page will make it clear to them which account they’re authenticating, as well as the permissions they’re granting to applications.


Your G Suite users will be shown the account selection page either before or after being redirected to the third-party application, depending on whether they’re signed in to their browser and the specific third-party application they’re accessing. Please refer to the FAQ below for more details on when the account selection page will be shown.

Additional questions are addressed in the FAQ below.

-- Frequently Asked Questions --

Does this impact G Suite customers who are using Google as their identity provider?
If you’re a G Suite customer whose identity provider is Google, the only change you’ll see is the redesigned Google Accounts login page.

Which third-party SSO providers are included in this launch?
All third-party SSO providers, including Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) SSO, will use this new Google Accounts login flow.

When will G Suite users see the additional account selection page?
The account selection page will not be shown in either of these cases:
  • when G Suite users are accessing Google applications such as Gmail, Calendar, Drive, etc.
  • if you don’t use a third-party SSO provider.
For customers using third-party SSO providers and accessing third-party applications, the account selection page will be shown in the situations below.

If there are accounts already signed in to the browser:
  • G Suite users will simply be required to confirm the G Suite account that they would like to use before being redirected to the third-party SSO provider, as illustrated in the post above.

If there are no accounts already signed in to the browser:
  • If the third-party application has set the domain hint (“hd”) parameter, the user will be redirected to the third-party SSO provider and the account selection page will be shown with the G Suite account that is returned.
  • If the third-party application has not set the "hd" parameter, the user must enter the account they would like to use prior to being redirected to the third-party SSO provider.
For more details on the “hd” parameter, please refer to the Google Developers Blog post or reference the developer documentation directly.

Will I need to confirm my account and grant the requested permissions every time I log in to a third-party application with a third-party SSO provider?After being prompted to confirm the correct Google account and granting the requested permissions upon initial login, only the account selection page will be shown again upon subsequent login attempts.

How can I remove my account from the account selection page?
G Suite accounts can be removed from the account selection page by clicking the “Remove an account” link.


Are all browsers impacted?
Yes, newer versions of all supported browsers will have this change applied, including Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge, Safari, and Opera.

Users of older browsers or those browsers that do not have JavaScript enabled will temporarily continue to see the old Google Accounts login page.

When will my users see these changes?
The rollout will start on Monday, April 10, to a small set of users. It will ramp up slowly over the course of several weeks.



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Refreshing the Google Accounts login page

Starting April 5, 2017, we’re rolling out an update to the Google Accounts sign-in page to give users an improved experience to securely sign in to their accounts. This new design will make browser sign-in flows consistent across computers, phones and tablets.

If you use third-party applications within your organization, or you use a third-party Single Sign-on (SSO) provider, we recommend contacting your developer(s) or SSO provider to see if any updates are necessary. To learn more, visit today’s G Suite Developer blog post.
Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Learn about the new Google sign-in page
G Suite Developers Blog


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Updates in G Suite to streamline Hangouts and Gmail

If you were at Google Cloud Next this year, you may have heard that Gmail and Google Hangouts are getting several improvements designed for businesses, such as Gmail Add-ons and the evolution of Hangouts: Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat. To make the most of these opportunities, we’re announcing several updates to Hangouts, Gmail and Google+ that make things much simpler for both enterprise administrators and users.
  • Streamlining the messaging experience for Android: At Google Cloud Next, we announced that we’ve evolved Hangouts to focus on two new experiences that help bring teams together and keep work moving forward: Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat. We’ve been working hard to streamline the classic Hangouts product for enterprise users, and, as part of this effort, will be removing carrier SMS functionality in the classic Hangouts app for Android, starting on May 22. For administrators: If your domain is affected by this change, you can expect to receive an email notification with additional details in the coming days.
    • Upgrading SMS with Android Messages: We want to provide a consistent and easy-to-use SMS experience for Android users, right out of the box. So we’re focused on making Android Messages the primary place to access SMS and are working with carriers and device manufacturers to include Android Messages natively in Android devices. Over time, we’re working with partners to upgrade SMS to RCS—the next standard in carrier messaging that will bring features like read receipts, group chat, hi-res photo sharing and more.
    • Hangouts on Android users: In the next few weeks, you’ll see a notification in the classic Hangouts app to switch to another SMS app already on your phone for SMS, or to download Android Messages if one isn’t available. Choosing a new messaging app will not impact your SMS message history, and all your messages will be accessible in whichever new app you choose. Note: This change does not impact Google Voice users who may continue to use Hangouts for their Google Voice SMS.  Project Fi users who wish to use Hangouts as their SMS app will also not be impacted by this change, and can consult the Project Fi forum for more detail.


  • Fully transitioning Google Talk to Hangouts: Google Talk launched in 2005 as a simple chat experience between Gmail users. In 2013, we began replacing Google Talk with Hangouts, while still giving users the option to continue using Google Talk. Hangouts offers advanced improvements over Google Talk such as group video calling and integration with other Google products. With the introduction of Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat, which add further improvements in meetings and team collaboration, it is now time to say goodbye to Google Talk.
    • Talk users within Gmail will receive a prompt in the next few weeks, inviting them to switch to Hangouts. After June 26, users will be automatically transitioned to Hangouts, unless contractual commitments apply. For users that preferred the Google Talk look, there is a Dense Roster setting in Hangouts that provides a similar experience.
    • Third-party XMPP clients will continue to work with Hangouts for 1-on-1 chats. XMPP federation with third-party services providers will no longer be supported starting June 26.
    • The legacy Google Talk Android app was replaced in the Play Store in 2013 and will now stop functioning. Android users are encouraged to install Hangouts now.
    • For G Suite administrators: If your domain is affected by this change, you will have already received an email notification about this change.
  • Retiring several Gmail Labs: Gmail Labs serve as a great testing ground for experimental features. Successful labs graduate, and low usage labs often retire. With the announcement of Gmail Add-ons, enterprises will soon gain the ability to add modern integrations in Gmail, which in some cases will replace or improve the functionality provided by some labs. So in the coming weeks, we will retire the following Labs: Authentication Icon, Google Voice Player, Picasa previews, Pictures in chat, Quick Links, Quote Selected Text, Smartlabels, and Yelp previews. (Expected: No earlier than April 24, 2017)
  • Retiring Google+ functionality in Gmail: As part of our continued effort to focus Google+ around shared interests, we’re retiring two legacy Google+ features in Gmail: the ability to email Google+ profiles and the use of Google+ Circles. (Expected: No earlier than April 24, 2017)
    We realize these updates may be an inconvenience, so we aimed to minimize disruption and help you navigate the changes where possible. These updates will help us focus and prioritize features that will improve the entire G Suite user experience for everyone. To monitor the retirement dates for these features, subscribe to the G Suite What’s New Calendar.

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    Sales Cloud integration with Google Sheets

    Last fall, we announced efforts with Salesforce to build tighter integrations with G Suite apps, and as of last week, businesses can now use Edit Opportunities in Google Sheets to save time. Sales reps can simply sync a Salesforce Opportunity List View to Sheets to bulk edit data, and the changes are synced automatically to Salesforce, no upload required.

    This integration supports business logic and validation rules and even lets sales reps use Explore in Sheets to help answer natural language questions.

    Launch Details
    Note: This is a Salesforce launch, available to all Sales Cloud customers who also use Google Sheets. 

    More Information
    Salesforce AppExchange


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    An update on Jamboard, the collaborative, cloud-first whiteboard

    Last October we introduced Jamboard, a digital whiteboard designed specifically for the cloud.
    Through the Jamboard Early Adopter Program (EAP), we’ve been hard at work gathering and implementing feedback from G Suite customers to make Jamboard the ultimate free-form collaboration experience. Today, at Google Cloud Next, we announced that Jamboard will be available for purchase starting in May 2017, with a retail price of $4,999, plus a $600 annual management and support fee (discounted to $300 for your first year if you purchase by Sept. 30, 2017).

    While we’re no longer accepting applications for the EAP, customers can visit the Jamboard website to express interest in purchasing devices. Jamboard will be available for purchase with shipping to locations in the US in May.

    More Information
    Jamboard website


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