This official feed from the Google Workspace team provides essential information about new features and improvements for Google Workspace customers.
rss_feed

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 

Read More

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 

Read More

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 

Read More

What’s changing

In 2020, we launched Google Workspace as an integrated solution that provides everything you need to get anything done, all in one place. Earlier this year, we introduced a series of innovations, including smart canvas, all aimed to help you better manage your time and build deeper connections with each other as the future of work continues to evolve. 

Today, we’re announcing new forthcoming innovations in Google Chat to help teams do their best work in the hybrid work world, as many of us begin a return to office. In addition, we will also introduce a more streamlined and flexible user interface that helps people and groups more easily stay organized and balance focus and multitasking. 

Later this year, we’ll evolve the Rooms experience in Google Chat to Spaces, a dedicated place to organize people, topics, and projects in Google Workspace. In Spaces, you’ll notice new features like: 
  • In-line topic threading 
  • Presence indicators 
  • Assigned tasks 
  • Expressive reactions, custom statuses using emojis, and GIFs 
  • Improved content search across Spaces 
  • Message pinning 
  • User roles and moderation tools 
  • Discoverable spaces 
Spaces will also seamlessly integrate with Calendar, Drive, Tasks and across Workspace becoming a new home for getting more done, together. In Spaces, you’ll be able to: 
  • Create and share docs 
  • Side-by-side discuss and edit 
  • See status from calendar 
  • Run interactive polls 
  • Integrate workflows directly with Bots 
For moments when you need to collaborate further, you can easily convert your group conversations into Rooms. In the future, you’ll be able to convert group conversations into Spaces when it becomes available.



The new experience will begin rolling out to all users of Chat in Gmail over the next several months for all organizations that have Chat enabled, with new features being delivered on a rolling basis. We will continue to provide updates on the Workspace Updates Blog as these features become available. 

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 

Why it matters 

Google Chat has been an essential part of work during the last year, serving as a bridge for separated colleagues to collaborate in real time. We hope these innovations will give distributed teams more shared spaces, making collaboration easier. 

Additional details 

In the coming months, we will introduce a new streamlined and flexible user interface that helps people and groups more easily stay organized and balance focus and multitasking. The new experience will feature a new left-hand navigation which surfaces critical applications like Gmail, Chat and Meet in one location. 

This will make staying on-top of and navigating to important conversations and critical notifications easier, eliminating the need to switch between various applications. 


Google Workspace customers who are interested in early access to these features, please express interest here. If accepted into the program, we will contact you in the coming weeks to confirm and share next steps.

Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Custom statuses and group chat to Rooms conversion 

We’ll provide an update on the Workspace Updates Blog as the additional features become available. 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Read More

New updates 

Google Voice is now available in Belgium 
Google Workspace customers based in Belgium can now sign up for Google Voice, and customers who have purchased Google Voice Premier can get phone numbers for their users in Belgium. With this launch, Voice is now available in these countries. | Learn more. 



Easily view the number of Google Meet hardware devices in your organization in the Admin console 
In the Admin console under Devices > Google Meet Hardware, admins will now see a simple count on the device list page of the number of devices that meet the criteria of the currently selected filters. | Learn more. 



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. 



Replace your background with a video in Google Meet 
In addition to replacing your Google Meet background with a static image, you can now replace your background with a video. | Learn more. 



Option to replace your background in Google Meet is now available on Android 
You can now blur or replace your background with an image in Google Meet on Android. This feature is already available on the web. | Learn more.



Find admin approved applications in the “Approved for you” section in the Google Workspace Marketplace 



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

Useful Links

Join the official community for Google Workspace administrators

In the Google Cloud Community, discuss the latest features with Googlers and other Google Workspace admins like you. Learn tips and tricks that will make your work and life easier. Be the first to know what's happening with Google Workspace.

Learn about more Google Workspace launches

On the “What’s new in Google Workspace?” Help Center page, learn about new products and features launching in Google Workspace, including smaller changes that haven’t been announced on the Google Workspace Updates blog.

Learn about our customers

Discover how a diverse range of organizations, from small businesses and nimble startups to globally recognized Fortune 500 corporations, leverage the collaborative power of Google Workspace. Explore examples of how teams of are streamlining workflows and driving productivity by utilizing Google-Workspace.