In April, we introduced the new Gmail, including a feature called confidential mode, which helps you protect sensitive content in your emails by setting expiration dates or revoking access to previously sent messages. This feature is now launching to consumer Gmail users only. As previously announced, it will launch to G Suite users at a later time. As a G Suite admin, you can define rules to handle confidential mode messages sent from consumer users to G Suite users in your domain.

Create a compliance rule to block incoming messages and more
For detailed instructions on how to set up rules for content compliance in your domain, please see this Help Center article. Gmail confidential mode will be listed as an attribute under “Metadata match.”



Stay tuned to the G Suite Updates blog for more information when confidential mode launches to G Suite users.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

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: Set up rules for content compliance

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In October 2017, we announced the rollout of international Hangouts Meet dial-in phone numbers for G Suite Enterprise domains. This option helps your team to stay connected, wherever they are. We’ve added this functionality for four additional countries (with more to come!):

• Colombia (CO)
• Croatia (HR)
• Lithuania (LT) 
• Portugal (PT)

For a complete list of currently supported countries, visit this Help Center article.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to G Suite Enterprise edition only

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

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Dial in from a phone
Help Center: Join a video meeting

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We can guarantee you’ll want to work on the go, but we can’t guarantee you’ll have Wi-Fi. Fortunately, native offline capabilities in the new Gmail make it possible to work without interruption—even when you don’t have an internet connection. Starting now, people using the new Gmail in a Chrome browser (v61 or higher) can search, write, delete, and archive up to 90 days of messages, even when they’re offline.

Enable Gmail offline for your domain

To get started, enable Gmail offline for your domain in the Admin console (the feature is disabled by default).


If you want offline content deleted for your users when they sign out of their Google accounts, check the Force deletion of offline data on log out of Google account box. This will prevent your users from keeping content on their local devices when they log out.

Turn on Gmail offline for your account

Once you’ve enabled Gmail offline for your domain, individuals who are using the new Gmail can turn it on from the Offline tab in their settings (the feature is disabled by default).


They can also choose whether to keep offline data on their computers or have it removed when they log out.

Uninstall the Gmail Offline Chrome app

We previously announced that we’re moving Chrome apps, like Gmail Offline, to the web. The Gmail Offline Chrome app will stop working in the future, so we recommend that users uninstall it and begin using the native offline feature as soon as possible.

Enable the new Gmail

These new native offline capabilities are only available to customers participating in the new Gmail Early Adopter Program (EAP). To opt in to the EAP and enable the new Gmail for your domain, follow the instructions in the Help Center.

For more information on Gmail offline, please visit the Help Center.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions with the new Gmail enabled

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

Impact:
Admins and end users

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Work offline in Gmail
Help Center: What’s new in Gmail

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As previously announced, the old Drive desktop sync client for Mac and PC—a feature officially known as “Google Drive for Mac/PC”—will start to shut down on May 12th, 2018. After May 12th, the sync client may not work for your organization.

Here are some important things to know: 

1. If you haven’t already, upgrade to a newer sync solution. 

This shutdown is happening because we have better sync solutions available for Drive users. G Suite organizations still using Drive for Mac/PC should transition to Drive File Stream. For non-G Suite users, we recommend Backup and Sync. For more information on choosing the right sync solution for your users, check out this Help Center guide.

2. The turn-down will be gradual. 

We will start the shutdown process on May 12th, but it will be gradual and may take several weeks to impact all organizations. After May 12th, however, updates to files may stop syncing between your users’ computers and Drive, so we recommend upgrading by that date.

3. Once the client shuts down for you, the Google Drive folder will stop syncing. 

When the legacy Google Drive desktop sync client shuts down, it will stop syncing the Google Drive folder to Google Drive. The local Drive folder (containing users’ files) will not be deleted from the machine, but changes made inside this folder will no longer sync to Drive. We don’t recommend editing files inside of this folder after May 12th, as it could lead to users misplacing their edited files (not realizing that this folder isn’t syncing to Drive). To avoid confusion, you may want to delete the legacy Google Drive folder. By default, this folder is located at:

• Windows: “C:\Users\%USER%\Google Drive” 
• macOS: “/Users/$USER/Google Drive” 

Use caution when deleting this folder, as it may contain content that has not yet been saved or synced.
In addition, after the legacy desktop client shuts down for you, the app will display this dialog when it starts up:

This message will be shown to end users still using the legacy sync client after it is shut down.

4. After May 12th, Drive File Stream will display a dialog and rename the old Google Drive folder to clarify that the old folder is not syncing. 

If a user signs in to Drive File Stream and it detects that the old Google Drive folder (from the same account) is still present on the machine, it will append “(Not Syncing)” to the old Google Drive folder, and display the following dialog:

After renaming the old Google Drive folder, Drive File Stream will display this dialog.

If you don’t want your users to see this dialog, you may remove the old Google Drive folder before May 12th.

After May 12th, if you choose to automate the removal of “~/Google Drive/”, you should remove “~/Google Drive (Not Syncing)/” as well. Note that for users who use Drive File Stream in another language, this folder name will be localized.

It’s important to note that while this folder name change is intended to discourage users from editing files inside the old Google Drive folder, it does not prevent users from making changes in it. We strongly encourage administrators to educate their end users to use Drive File Stream, and not the old Google Drive folder.

More Information 
Blog post (Sept 2017): Drive File Stream launching to all G Suite customers 
Blog post (Jan 2018): Legacy Google Drive desktop sync client now shutting down on May 12th, 2018
Help Center: Deploy Drive File Stream
Help Center: Choose a sync solution


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Update (June 4, 2018): We've resumed rolling out this feature. Thanks for your patience.

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Update (May 22, 2018): Due to technical issues, this feature has been rolled back. We'll update this post when it has re-launched.

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Some apps designed for enterprises include built-in settings called “managed configurations” that IT admins can set up remotely. For example, many VPN apps offer automatic setup, meaning people don’t have to take lengthy and confusing steps to begin using VPN . These managed configurations save admins valuable time and allow them to easily deploy otherwise complex settings arrangements. With this launch, we’re making it possible to set up managed configurations for Android apps using advanced mobile device management from Google Mobile Management.

To set up managed configurations by organizational unit (OU) or group, visit Device Management > App Management > Manage Applications for Android Devices > Whitelisted Android Apps in the Admin console and select the “App Distribution and Configuration” for the app you’re looking to configure. For step-by-step instructions, visit the Help Center.



To check if an app supports managed configurations, visit the managed Google Play store and click on the app you’re interested in. If the app supports managed configurations, it’ll be noted under the “Approve” or “Buy” button.


We hope this will make it easier for G Suite admins to deploy the Android apps their users need most, with the built-in settings that work best for their organization.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to G Suite Business, Enterprise, and Enterprise for Education and Cloud Identity Premium editions only

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

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Manage apps on mobile devices
Help Center: Managed app configuration


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When auto-provisioning is enabled for a supported third-party application, any users created, modified, or deleted in G Suite are automatically added, edited, or deleted in the third-party application as well. This feature is highly popular with admins, as it removes the overhead of managing users across multiple third-party SaaS applications.

We’ve heard continued positive feedback from admins, so we’re adding auto-provisioning support for six new applications:

• DeskPro 
• Federated Directory
• Front App
• ScreenSteps
• ThousandEyes
• Trello

Customers subscribed to G Suite Education, G Suite Business, and G Suite Enterprise editions can enable user auto-provisioning in all supported applications. Customers on G Suite Basic, G Suite Government, and G Suite Nonprofit can configure auto-provisioning for up to three applications from the supported list. For more information on how to set up auto-provisioning, check out the Help Center.

Launch Details 
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions: 

• G Suite Education, Business, and Enterprise customers can enable auto-provisioning for all supported applications 
• G Suite Basic, Government, and Nonprofit customers can enable auto-provisioning for up to three applications 

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

Impact: 
Admins only

Action: 
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information 
Help Center: Automated user provisioning
Help Center: Using SAML to set up federated SSO

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Last year, we introduced a new resource for admins: What’s new in G Suite? Don’t forget to visit the page regularly for a list of the most recent launches across G Suite.

Feedback? Let us know.

Archive and translated versions (coming soon for April issue)

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To control the flow of information across their organizations, G Suite admins often need increased visibility into the new Google Sites being created by their users. For instance, they may notice outdated information on a site and need to contact the owner to ensure that it's updated. Or they may see duplicative content on two sites and need to resolve the redundancies with those sites' owners. To help admins do this, we’re adding a feature in the new Google Sites that will make it easier for an admin to get additional information about individual sites.

See the owner of a site and request edit access 

When browsing a site in their domain, admins with appropriate permissions will see a “Site details” button in the footer of the site. When they click this footer, they’ll see:

• The site owner’s email address 
• The date the site was last published 
• An option to “Request edit access” 

Required admin permissions 

Super admins and any other admins with the “View details of new Google Sites” privilege will be able to see the site details link in a site’s footer.

Note that this feature does not automatically give G Suite admins the ability to edit Google Sites. They’ll still need to contact the site’s owner and request permission to directly edit.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

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 for end users: Invite others to edit your site 
Help Center for admins: Administrator privilege definitions

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