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Writer's pictureNizel Adams

Changes coming to Google's G Suite Group Settings in May 2019

Updated: Sep 5, 2021





Google continues to improve G Suite (now known as Google Workspace,) this time with changes to group settings


Google G Suite Logo G Drive Gmail Plus Hangouts Spreadsheets
G Suite offers many apps and features

Google has announced it is making changes to G Suite's group settings. The upcoming changes will remove things like global language settings and leave the language settings in the hands of individual users. It will also remove settings like max subject lengths and message sizes and replace them with enforced global limits for everyone outside of the admin's control. A lot of the removed settings were rarely used in the first place as admins usually don't waste time managing which individuals are "allowed to use canned responses." While the depth of the settings in G Suite are impressive & appreciated by control freaks, removing these settings provides a quicker, easier to use interface.


Other settings like member management, content moderation & content metadata will each be merged into one on/off button under each category versus the numerous individual settings they are now. Below is an example of how the settings currently look.


These changes are to roll out beginning May 6th, 2019.


G Suite Admin Panel Old Settings
How these settings currently appear on the G Suite Admin Panel


Below is Google's official announcement:

 

In May 2019, we’ll make some changes to Google Groups’ settings. In response to your ongoing feedback, we are updating Groups’ settings to make it easier for you and your users to manage and configure groups.


Specifically, we will remove settings and features that are rarely used, and combine settings that cover similar functionality. Use this Help Center article to see details of these changes and see how you can prepare for the update.


The changes will start to roll out on May 6, and may take up to 15 days to reach all domains.


What does this mean for my organization?


The removal and merging of some options for group management roles in the Settings section of groups.google.com will affect the settings for your existing groups. When the changes take effect, we’ll update the settings for existing groups to match the new set of options. These updates may change how groups can be accessed and used. Use our Help Center to see details of these changes and see how you can prepare for the update.


What do I need to do?


Use this Help Center article to see what’s changing and how you can prepare for the changes, and this Help Center article to see how you could tell group owners about what’s changing.


Some users may lose access to group management features


Some users who are not group owners or group managers but who currently have access to specific group management features may lose that access. Therefore you may want to audit groups in your organization and adjust the settings before May 6 to make sure these users don’t lose access.


If you do nothing:

  • Existing group settings will be updated to conform to the new controls available.

  • Group owners will still be able to change the settings that apply to their group at any point.

  • New groups will be subject to the default controls that are the same as they are today.


We recommend that you audit your groups after the change to confirm that the new changes have the desired settings.


FAQs


How will users find out about these changes?


In-product message: In the next few days, users will see an in-product message about the upcoming changes when they use Groups. The message will direct them to the Help Center for an overview of the changes and change timeline.


Admin outreach: We encourage you to work with groups owners at your organization to educate them about the changes and encourage them to take any necessary actions before May 6. You can see an email template that could be helpful in communicating these changes to your users.


How can I see affected group owners?


Most groups will be affected in some way by these changes. You can use the Groups API to get a list of all groups and get a list of group owners in your organization, which might help you prepare for the changes.






















 

©2018 Google LLC, used with permission. Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC.

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