What’s changing

We are launching some changes to how Gmail threads messages when you have conversation view turned on. Previously, Gmail would thread together messages when either of the two conditions below are true:

1. A message is sent in reply to another
2. A message has:
1. The same sender or recipients,
2. The same subject,
3. And is sent within one week of an earlier message in the thread.

With this change, we’re adding the requirement that an incoming message’s Reference header, if present, must reference IDs of previous messages in order to thread (see image below for example). This means that if you receive two emails with the same subject from the same sender, these emails will not be threaded together unless one explicitly references the other.

Who’s impacted

End users

Why you’d use it

This change helps to make sure that messages are only threaded when there is a definite relationship between them.

How to get started

• Admins: No action required.
• End users: No action required. You’ll see these changes roll out on Gmail on the web and on mobile apps.

Additional details

If you are managing a system that sends email notifications to users and want your emails to be threaded in Gmail conversation view, then you have to ensure that your notifications:

• Have the same subject
• Have reference headers that reference IDs seen earlier in the thread, or have references headers that consistently refer to the same message ID

Additionally, if you don’t want your messages to be threaded in Gmail, you can either have different subjects or send each message with a unique References header value that will never match another message.

Helpful links

• Help Center: Trace an email with its full headers

Availability

Rollout details

• Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 29, 2019
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 12, 2019

G Suite editions
Available to all G Suite editions
On/off by default?
This feature will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Quick launch summary

You can now set up swipe actions in Gmail on iOS to do any of the following actions: Archive, Trash, Mark as read/unread, Snooze, and Move to.

We recently announced a brand new mobile redesign for Gmail with many new productivity improvements.To help you get things done even more quickly, you can now customize the actions you can take when swiping on an email in Gmail on your iOS device.

You can access the swipe configuration settings by going into the Gmail iOS app and navigating to Settings > Swipe actions, and choosing the swipe options that work best for you.



In addition to using swipe actions to quickly triage your email, you can also use the same actions to triage your notifications as well. For example, if you like to snooze emails, you can press firmly (3D Touch) or long press on a Gmail iOS notification, and click on "Snooze" directly to pick the date and time when to snooze the email until.

Availability

Rollout details

• Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 28, 2019
• Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 28, 2019

G Suite editions

• Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default?

• This feature will be ON by default

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing 

We’re updating Drive File Stream to replace the functionality of the “Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office.” As a result, the outdated plugin will be shut down on June 26, 2019. This only impacts users of the Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office. Those users will notice two key changes:

1. New Drive / Outlook integration: The update to Drive File Stream will include a plugin to manage Google Drive files from Microsoft Outlook on Windows. This will make it easier for users to use Google Drive without leaving the Outlook interface. 
2. New process to save to, or open from Drive: Drive File Stream users can save and open Drive files through the regular menu, rather than using the Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office interface. 
• To save to Drive, use File > Save, then choose a destination in Drive File Stream. 
• To open from Drive, Open through the File > Open menu and find the file you want. 

If your organization uses the Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office, you should make sure your users are using the latest version of Drive File Stream before June 26, 2019 to ensure continued access to this functionality.

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it 

Drive File Stream offers an easy way to integrate Microsoft Office and Google Drive. The latest versions (30.1 and up) will include the new Outlook plugin that will make it easier for users to:

• Save attachments from Outlook to Drive 
• Attach Drive files to Outlook messages 
• Ensure recipients always have access to Drive links sent in Outlook emails 

Drive File Stream already makes it easy to save to the local Drive File Stream folder through the regular “Save” menu.

By ensuring your users are using the new plugin before June 26, 2019, there will be little to no disruption to their workflows.

How to get started 

• Admins: Make sure your users are using an up to date version of Drive File Stream. Use our Help Center to learn how to deploy Drive File Stream for your organization. 
• End users: Ensure you’re using an up to date version of Drive File Stream. Use our Help Center to download and install Drive File Stream on your computer. 

Additional details 

Users of the Drive for Office plugin will see an in-product notification, pictured below, starting on March 27, 2019. This will encourage them to update to the new plugin to continue using Drive from Outlook.

Helpful links 

• Help Center (for admins): Deploy Drive File Stream 
• Help Center (for users): Use work or school files on your computer with Drive File Stream 

Availability 

Rollout details 

• Rapid Release domains: Available in Drive File Stream version 30.1 and up, which will become available on March 27, 2019. 
• Scheduled Release domains: Available in Drive File Stream version 30.1 and up, which will become available on March 27, 2019. 

G Suite editions 
Available to all G Suite editions.

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

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing 

We’re updating how 2-Step Verification works for G Suite. This will make new 2-Step Verification methods available for some devices, and update the 2-Step Verification user interface on mobile and desktop devices. There are three key impacts:

• New 2-Step Verification interfaces 
• Different screens on different browsers (Safari, Edge, etc.) 
• Expanded Bluetooth security key support 

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it 

We hope that these updates make 2-Step Verification easier to use. 2-Step Verification puts an extra barrier between your business and cybercriminals who want to access business data. Turning on 2-Step Verification is the single most important thing you can do to make your accounts more secure and protect your business.

How to get started 

• Admins: Use our Help Center to find out how to set up 2-Step Verification for your organization. 
• End users: No action needed. 

Additional details 

New 2-Step Verification interfaces: You may see new illustrations, text, and instructions in the images, dialogs in the 2-Step Verification flows when using a bluetooth or usb security key. See images below for examples of the types of changes.

Different screens on different browsers: You may see different flows on Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, and other browsers. Previously the service provider (Google) was responsible for showing these dialogs. Now the web browser is responsible. As a result, the flow may be different on each browser.

Expanded Bluetooth security key support: Bluetooth key support can now be enabled through a flag on each device. To enable this flag, users can go to chrome://flags/#enable-web-authentication-ble-support and select Enabled. Note that this is an experimental feature so performance is not guaranteed.

Helpful links 

Help Center: Protect your business with 2-Step Verification

Availability 

Rollout details 

• Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 14 days for feature visibility) starting on March 26, 2019. 
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 14 days for feature visibility) starting on March 26, 2019. 

G Suite editions
Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default? 
The updated user interface will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing

We’re opening a beta program for dynamic email in Gmail. Dynamic email allows email senders to embed AMP into messages themselves, making them more actionable and updating them with the most current information.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it

Dynamic emails make emails more useful and interactive in Gmail. Your emails can stay up to date so you’re always seeing the freshest information, like seeing the latest comment threads from Docs, or taking actions, like filling out forms, or replying to comments inline directly from within the message itself.

How to get started

• End users: Once dynamic email is activated in the Admin console, users will begin seeing dynamic emails from senders who have adopted AMP for Email.

Additional details

This feature is currently only available in Gmail on the web, with mobile coming soon. Email senders who wish to send dynamic emails must register with Google before their messages appear for end users. For more information on how dynamic email works with Vault, check out the Help Center.

Helpful links

• Controlling dynamic emails in your domain
• How dynamic emails work with Vault

Availability

Rollout details

• Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 26, 2019
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 26, 2019

G Suite editions

• Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default?

• This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled by the admin via the Admin console.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing

To provide admins better tools to improve the overall performance of their Hangouts Meet devices, we’ve introduced a new set of actionable alerts when issues with peripherals are detected. We’ve also made the alerts for detected connectivity/network issues actionable with richer information and direct access to the device information page. New information in the alerts include:

• Device name
• Location
• Alert id (identical for open and close alerts)
• Issue type (Connectivity or Peripheral)
• Issue (Offline, Missing microphone, Missing camera, etc)
• Issue opened timestamp
• Issue closed timestamp (if closed)
• Asset location (from the assigned calendar)
• Annotated location (if set for the device)
• Asset id (if set for the device)
• Serial number
• Direct link to the device page in Google Admin console

Example alerts — email
Open alert



Close alert



Example alert — text message
Open alert


For text message, alerting is only sent out when an issue is detected, not on close.

Who’s impacted

Admins only

Why you’d use it

The improved alerts provide additional information to help admins proactively manage their network and devices for improved availability and end-user experience.

How to get started

• Admins: To enable the Hangouts Meet hardware alerts:

1. In the Admin console, go to Devices > Google meeting room hardware > Settings and policies
   
2. Select the organization for which you want to change the settings for alerts
3. Enter contact details — email(s) and/or mobile phone number(s)
4. Select delivery methods for connectivity status alerts and peripheral alerts: Click Save to apply the settings
   

• End users: No action required

Additional information

Both alert types are optional and delivery can be enabled individually by email and/or text message (SMS) (US/Canada numbers only). The email format is intended for easy integration with automated ticketing systems.

Helpful links

• Help Center: Change settings for Google meeting room hardware

Availability

• Rapid Release domains: Fully rolled out to all domains.
• Scheduled Release domains: Fully rolled out to all domains.

G Suite editions

• Available to all G Suite Editions.

On/off by default?

• This feature will be OFF by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing 

We’re launching a beta program for a new feature that allows users to search for Google Drive files that they have access to when using the Chrome Omnibox (search/URL box). Users in the beta can now search for files in Drive by owner or type, where previously they could only search for a title or URL of a webpage. This feature is similar to what users see when searching for files in Google Drive.

Admins for G Suite Business, Enterprise, and Enterprise for Education can apply for the beta.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

This feature will give users faster access to the files and data they need while searching in Google Chrome. Users will now be able to see Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, PDFs, and other file type suggestions from both “My Drive” and “Shared with Me” when searching in Chrome browser. This will help people get work done faster.

How to get started 

• Admins: No action required, this beta is now closed and no longer accepting new applicants. 
• End Users: No action required. 

Additional details 

This feature will be available to users signed into a Chrome profile on any operating system: Chromebook, Mac, Windows, etc.

Helpful links  

Learn what sync settings users can manage and how they are managed. 
How to enable or disable chrome Sync. 

Availability 

G Suite editions 

• Available to G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise, and G Suite Enterprise for Education.
• Not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits. 

On/off by default? 

• This feature will be ON by default for beta participants and can be controlled at the OU level.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing 

Based on your feedback following our previous announcement, Changes to Google Groups settings starting May 6, 2019, we’re making the following changes:

• Additional improvements to the Groups Settings API to help you plan for and manage the changes (see more details below). 
• “Post as the group” will remain a separate setting - it will not be merged as we previously stated. 
• “New member posts are moderated” will remain an option for moderation - it will not be deprecated as we previously stated. 
• “Take topics” will be merged into the content metadata settings. 

To help you plan for these changes, we’re also sharing a Google Sheet which can help identify what the new settings will be for a group. In addition, we’re changing the rollout schedule so the new settings will start to take effect in Scheduled Release domains on June 3, four weeks after Rapid Release domains.

Use our Help Center to see details of these changes and see how you can prepare for the update.

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it 

We hope these resources will help you better understand and prepare for the changes to Groups settings.

How to get started 

• Admins: See our previous announcement for background on the changes, and use our updated Help Center to see details of these changes and see how you can prepare for the update. 
• Developers: See our Cloud blog post for details of the API behavior changes. 
• End users: Support any group audits as decided by admin. 

Additional details 

Groups API improvements 
On March 25th, 2019, we’ll be updating the Groups Settings API. These updates align the API with the product changes we’re making (outlined in our previous announcement and this post) and mean it’s easier to use the API to prepare. API updates include:

• All settings that are to-be merged will be exposed via the API. This means you can audit your current groups via API, and make changes to ensure new settings are inferred as you want them to be. 
• New merged settings will be exposed via the API. This means you can query the new merged settings and ensure they are going to be inferred as expected. Note that It will be read-only (i.e. inferred value) until launch, at which point it will also support write. 
• New bit for custom roles exposed. If you use custom roles, API queries may return incorrect values. The new bit will highlight if a group uses custom roles for one of the merged settings and so will help you identify groups that require manual review. 
• New bit for collaborative inbox exposed. We will expose a new bit that represents whether collaborative inbox will be enabled for a group. If you expect your group to have collaborative inbox functionality (e.g. topic assignment), ensure that this bit is true. You may do this by enabling any of the collaborative inbox features. Note that it will be read-only (i.e. inferred value) until launch, at which point it will also support write. 
• New bit for who can discover group exposed. We will expose a new bit that represents who the group will be visible to. This setting will replace show in group directory. Note that it will be read-only (i.e. inferred value) until launch, at which point it will also support write. 

See our Cloud blog post for more details on these API changes and how to use them.

“Post as the group” will not be merged into the content moderator setting 
Previously we stated that this setting would be merged. However, you told us that it was valuable and we should keep it separate, so we’re updating the plans and will not merge it.

“New member posts are moderated” will continue to be supported. 
The “New member posts are moderated” setting, exposed in the API as MODERATE_NEW_MEMBERS, will continue to be supported as a value for moderation.

“Take topics” will be merged with content metadata 
We previously suggested that “Take topics” would remain a standalone setting. However, this will now be merged as part of the content metadata settings.

New worksheet to help visualize changes
We’ve created this Google Sheet which will show you what the new settings will be for any group if you input the current settings. This can help you check the settings will be inferred as you want them.

Helpful links 

• Help Center: Announcing changes to Groups settings 
• Google Sheet: See what the new settings will be for a group 
• G Suite Updates blog: Changes to Google Groups settings starting May 6, 2019 
• Groups Settings API 

Availability 

Rollout details 

• Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 6, 2019 
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on June 3, 2019 

G Suite editions 
Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default? 
This feature will be ON by default.
Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

In Editors: 
Within the Activity dashboard, the “View time” tab has been renamed to “Viewers.” From this tab, document owners can see the last time users with Edit access viewed the file and take action to follow-up. To learn more about view history in Docs, Sheets, and Slides, see this Help Center article. 

We’re also changing the icon for the Viewers tab — previously it was a clock, now it will be a person. This change is to better indicate the purpose of this tab, which is viewer history, not time viewers spent in the document.

Availability 

Rollout details

• Rapid Release domains: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 19, 2019. 
• Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 19, 2019. 

G Suite editions 

• Available to all G Suite Editions.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing  

We’ve made it simpler to add images inside of cells in Google Sheets. Previously, it was only possible to insert publicly hosted images into a cell using the IMAGE function.

Now, you can insert any image, like those saved on your desktop or mobile device, into a cell by using the IMAGE function or the new option found inside the Insert menu.

Who’s impacted 

End users

Why you’d use it 

• You’ve told us this feature would be helpful for many tasks like: 
• Adding receipts to expense-tracking spreadsheets 
• Adding icons to icon libraries 
• Adding logos to better brand your resources 
• Adding product images to inventory lists, and more. 

How to get started 

• Admins: No action needed. 
• End users: You can add images directly to cells in two ways on Desktop: 

• Use the IMAGE() function 
• Via the menu bar at the top of a Sheet: Insert > Image > Image in cell 
• Select image from Drive or upload one. 

• On Mobile: 
• Tap once on a cell to select 
• Tap again to bring up menu: Insert > Tap the “+” at the top of the screen > Image > Image in cell 
• Select an image from the options presented to you. 

Additional details 

Helpful links 

Availability 

What’s changing

We’re adding three highly-requested features to Tasks. You can now:

• Set a date and time for your tasks and receive notifications
• Create repeating tasks
• Import reminders into Tasks

Who’s impacted

End users

Why you’d use it

We’ve heard from you that you’d like Tasks to be the one destination to track what you need to do in G Suite. These features will help make sure all of your to-dos are in Tasks, and ensure that you can keep track of the deadlines associated with them. Additionally, importing reminders to Tasks can help your users if your organization is currently transitioning from Inbox to Gmail.

How to get started

• Admins: No action needed
• End users - Date/time and repeating tasks:
• When you create or edit a task, you’ll now see a new “Add date/time” field.
• After clicking on Add date/time, you can enter the date, time, and recurrence of this task.

• End users - Import to tasks:
• When you open Tasks on the web or your mobile app, you’ll see a prompt to copy your existing reminders over to Tasks. You can also trigger this manually by opening the overflow menu in the top right.
• You’ll be able to select which list in Tasks you’d like to add them to, or create a new list.
• You can also indicate whether or not you’d like these reminders to be deleted once they are copied.

Additional details

New time features
Every task now has two time-based properties, date and start time, that are available in the edit screen of each task.

These tasks will then show up in Google Calendar on the web at their specific time, as long as you have the “Tasks” calendar enabled on the left-hand side. If you’ve enabled mobile notifications, you'll also get notified for tasks at their scheduled dates and times in the Tasks mobile apps (Android/iOS). For tasks that have a date, but don’t have a time, you’ll get notifications at 9am local time.


If a task wasn’t marked as completed, you’ll get a second notification at 9am the day after a task was due.

Importing reminders into Tasks
This import tool will pull your reminders (from Inbox/Gmail, Calendar, or the Assistant) into Tasks.

When importing reminders into Tasks, we’ll copy over the title, date, time and recurrence of the reminder. Please note, reminders with locations associated will not be imported. Additionally, this is a one-time import and not a constant sync.

Availability

Rollout details

• Rapid Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2019
• Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2019

G Suite editions

• Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default?

• Both features will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Quick launch summary

We’re launching a new Priority page in Drive as a new way to help you stay focused and get work done. This page will help you access the files you need through a combination of suggestions and workspaces. With the new Priority page, not only are the most relevant files served up to you, but you can take action on them, as well as sort them into workspaces.

We hope this makes accessing your most important files easier and helps you work more efficiently. 

You can access the Priority page from the left-hand navigation panel in Drive. Some features you’ll see on the Priority page include:

• Priority: 
• Here you’ll see the documents we think are most relevant to you right now. These machine-learning-powered suggestions are based on various signals from your activity. On each suggested document, you can also take actions in line, without navigating to the doc in question, like replying to a comment or reviewing recent edits.
• Workspaces: 
• In Workspaces, you’ll be able to see intelligent suggestions of related content to group together for easier access— like multiple files related to the same project. 
• You can also create your own personalized Workspaces collecting any files you have access to, including content stored in your My Drive and various Team Drives. 
• Right-click on any file and select Add to Workspace to dynamically group files as you work.

If users would like to make Priority their default home page, they can do so in their settings, which is accessible via the gear icon in the upper righthand corner.

Availability 

Rollout details 

• Rapid Release domains: Extended Rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2019. 
• Scheduled Release domains: Extended Rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 1, 2019. 

G Suite editions 

• Available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, and G Suite Enterprise. 
• Coming soon for G Suite for Education, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits.  

On/off by default? 

• This feature will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Quick launch summary

You can now see the creator of a meeting when looking at a “busy” block of time on a resource or room’s schedule in the “Find a time” grid view. Simply hover over the block to see the event creator’s name (even if the event is “Private.”)



We’ve heard from you that being able to see who booked a room for a meeting is crucial in order to easily reach out to the creator to ask if they would be open to swap the room or change the meeting time.

Please note, the information such as the description and title of the event will still be hidden to ensure no sensitive information is shared.

Availability

Rollout details

• Rapid Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2019
• Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2019

G Suite editions

• Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default?

• This feature will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Quick launch summary

Last year, we released automatic room suggestions in Google Calendar on the web. We’re now bringing that feature to Android and iOS devices.

This feature, using Google AI, suggests the rooms for your meetings based on the locations and preferences of the guests.

To enable this feature, structured resource information and users’ work locations are required to be set.

Availability

Rollout details

• Rapid Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2019
• Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2019

G Suite editions

• Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default?

• This feature is ON by default and immediately visible when resources are structured and user locations are set.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing 

We’re adding an option for admins to disable telephony options as 2-Step Verification methods for G Suite accounts in their domain. This option will prevent their users from using SMS and voice codes for 2-factor authentication.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

There are many forms of 2-Step Verification—from text (SMS) message codes, to the Google Authenticator app, to hardware second factors like security keys. And while any second factor will greatly improve the security of your account, we’ve long advocated the use of security keys for those who want the strongest account protection.

As awareness of the potential vulnerabilities associated with SMS and voice codes has increased, some admins asked us for more control over the ability to use phone-based 2-Step Verification methods within organizations. The present release does just that - admins get a policy that can enforce the use of multi-factor authentication without permitting SMS and voice verification codes. 

This new policy gives admins more control over the security methods used in their domain, and increases the security of user accounts and associated data.

How to get started 

• Admins: Apply the new policy by changing the setting at Admin console > Security > Advanced security settings > Allowed two step verification methods. 
• End users: No action needed unless admin changes configuration. 

Additional details

How users can configure 2-Step Verification once the policy is enforced 
Users with the new policy applied will not be able to add SMS or voice based codes as an option - either when enrolling in 2-Step Verification for the first time or later at myaccount.google.com. A user enrolling in 2-Step Verification for the first time will see the screen below. This first provides an option to set up Google Prompt, as well as ‘Choose another option’ which will let them add a Security Key instead.


Avoid user sign-in issues 
Users affected by the new policy who have SMS/Voice as the only 2SV method on their account will not be able to sign in. To avoid this lock-out situation, see our Help Center to get tips for how to ensure a smooth transition to an enforcement policy.

Helpful links 

• Help Center: Protect your business with 2-step verification 
• Help Center: Deploy 2-Step Verification 

Availability 

Rollout details 

• Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 14, 2019. 
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 14, 2019 

G Suite editions 
Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default? 
The new policy is not enabled by default. Admin needs to explicitly choose to apply this policy on a OU / Group basis, like the other existing 2SV enforcement policies.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing 

We’re making it even easier to manage Google Groups through the G Suite Admin console. The new improvements include:

• A new settings card: When you create a group, this card will help you quickly view and customize group settings. 
• A new hover menu: When viewing the list of Groups, you can use this menu to get quick access to member management and group settings. 
• Pop-up controls: Using pop up controls, you will be able to add members, manage members, edit settings, and delete groups without leaving the Groups list page. 

These build on other recent improvements to group management in the Admin console. See below for images of these new settings and options.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

Groups can improve communication and collaboration in your organization. You can use Groups to create mailing lists, web forums, and collaborative inboxes for your team, and also to control access to documents and Google services.

However, it’s important to include the right people in each group, and apply the right settings so groups are secure. By giving admins easy-to-use controls for groups details, we hope to make it easier to share and use information.

How to get started 

• Admins: See our Help Center to find out more about how to use and manage groups in your organization. 
• End users: No action needed 

Helpful links 

Help Center (Admin): Use Groups in your organization

Availability 

Rollout details 

• Rapid Release domains: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 13, 2019 
• Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) starting on March 13, 2019 

G Suite editions 
Available to all G Suite editions.

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

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing  

Google Drive is getting a new look and feel on iOS and Android, making it easier to communicate and collaborate across files in Drive on mobile devices.



This Material redesign is part of a larger effort to bring the look and feel of our G Suite apps together as a whole, with ease-of-use in mind.

Some improvements you’ll see include:

• New Home tab and bottom navigation 
• Similar to Drive on the web, the Home tab will surface the files that are most important to you, based on things like: 
• The last time you accessed or edited a file 
• Who specific files are frequently shared with 
• What files are used at specific times of day.
• A more intuitive bottom navigation bar that features options to switch between Home, Starred, files shared with you (Shared), and all files (Files), allowing for quicker access to your most important items.

• Expanded search bar 
• The search bar is now more accessible across the application, including from the Team Drives page.
•  My Drive, Team Drives and Computers in Files view 
• Team Drives will be now be displayed as a tab next to My Drive in the Files view. Users will also see a Computers tab if they have backed up content from a local machine to their account. 

•  New account switching experience 
• The feature to switch accounts is moving from the left navigation menu to an icon in the top right.

•  Revised actions menu 
• A revised actions menu attached to every file and folder emphasizes the most frequently used actions at the top. Toggles for starred and offline are now changed to buttons.

Who’s impacted 

End users

Why you’d use it 

We know that mobile devices are critical to getting work done, whether it’s at our desk, in a meeting, sending an email, or collaborating. Drive is not just a way to backup files to the cloud, but a critical way to easily share work, make last minute changes to content, or review important content on the go. The Drive Mobile redesign aims to make these workflows easier.

How to get started 

• Admins: No action required. 
• End users: You’ll see the new look coming your way soon. 

Additional details

iOS users will begin seeing the redesign starting on March 12, 2019. Android users will see the redesign starting on March 18, 2019.

To help your users navigate this redesign, see this change management guide or download this PDF.

Helpful links 

View the change management guide for this update. Also available as a PDF.
Using Google Drive on Android
Using Google Drive on iOS 

Availability 

Rollout details 

• iOS: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) rollout starting March 12, 2019.
• Android: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) rollout starting March 18, 2019. 

G Suite editions 
Available to all G Suite Editions.

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

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Quick launch summary

Now, when you present your screen in a Hangouts Meet meeting, your camera’s video feed will remain visible. This allows other meeting participants to continue to see you while you present.

Availability

Rollout details

• Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 11, 2019
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 11, 2019

G Suite editions

• Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default?

• This feature will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing 

We’re adding SAML integration for five additional applications:

• Clear Review 
• Clubhouse
• Dialpad Sandbox
• HubSpot 
• Workable

Use our Help Center to see the full list of SAML apps and find out how to configure SAML applications.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

With Single-Sign-On (SSO), users can access all of their enterprise cloud applications—including the Admin console for admins—after signing in just one time. Google supports the two most popular enterprise SSO standards, OpenID Connect and SAML, and there are already many applications with pre-integrated SSO support in our third-party apps catalog.

How to get started 

• Admins: You can find our full list of pre-integrated applications, as well as instructions for installing them, in the Help Center.
• End users: No action needed.

Additional details 

Note that apart from the pre-integrated SAML applications, G Suite also supports installing “Custom SAML Applications,” which means that admins can install any third-party application that supports SAML. The advantage of a pre-integrated app is that the installation is much easier. Use out Help Center to learn more about installing Custom SAML Applications.

Helpful links 

Help Center: Using SAML to set up federated SSO 
Help Center: Set up your own custom SAML applicationAvailability 

Rollout details 

• Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 11, 2019 
• Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 11, 2019 

G Suite editions 
Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default? 
This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the OU level.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

What’s changing

As part of the migration from classic Hangouts to Hangouts Meet that we announced last year, we’ll now begin migrating the video conferencing for your recurring Calendar events from classic Hangouts to Meet. Previously, we made the change so that new events scheduled in Calendar will use Meet. Now this change is to update previously scheduled events in Calendar as well.

Who’s impacted

End users

Why we’re migrating

We've built Hangouts Meet to have a fast, simple interface with enterprise grade meeting functionality such as livestreaming and meeting with up to 100 people. To ensure you get the best-in-class experience we’re migrating the remainder of your existing recurring Calendar events. This will happen gradually in an effort to limit any disruption and ensure that you can focus on what’s important: meetings where people can be as productive as they are when they’re face-to-face.

How to get started

• Admins: No action needed.
• End users: When you join a recurring Calendar event on classic Hangouts, you will see a banner that future occurrences of this meeting will be on Meet.

Additional details

Migrating existing Calendar events
This change will take place gradually as users join affected meetings. They will see a migration banner notifying them future occurrences will be on Meet. After the end of the call, all participants will get an updated event information with the new meeting details. Single instance (non-recurring) Calendar events will remain unchanged.

If your meeting doesn’t migrate
Some of your meetings may not automatically update to Meet. When this happens, you’ll see a banner in the video call notifying end users to update the Calendar event to Meet. This may happen for complex Calendar event setups, such as if different events have the same video link.

Helpful links

Help Center: Migration FAQs

Availability

Rollout details

• Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 11, 2019
• Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 25, 2019

G Suite editions
Available to all G Suite editions

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

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

• Get G Suite product update alerts by email
• See the G Suite launch release calendar
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates