The new Google Workspace update strips administrators of organizations’ comprehensive privacy controls.
Today is finally the day when the most debated alterations to the privacy settings of Google Workspace become effective. For paid Google Workspace users, the ‘Web & App Activity’ feature is being separated from the admin control panel and divided into two different settings.
Firstly, the administrators will no longer have control over their privacy settings. Now it will be up to every organization user to search and change settings by themselves.
Furthermore, Google will no longer honor the former privacy settings while moving controls. Organizations that formerly chose not to track will be selected back into some tracks, and each user will have to opt out now individually.
Google breaks a single setting into two
The other change being introduced according to the announcement is the settings divide. The tracking that formerly came under the domain of ‘Web & App Activity” is now being split into two controls. The first one will still be called ‘Web & App Activity,’ whereas the new setting will be termed ‘Search History.’
The setting of Web & App Activity will not be switched back on. However, since the Search History was never technically in existence before, it will be on by default for all users, even if someone opted out of it previously under the domain of Web & App Activity.
Since administrators will no longer be able to control this setting, all users in the organization must shut off the Search History by themselves.
Many organizations are not on-board with this new update. However, Google provides the argument that since Workspace is a paid service. Also, the company ‘never uses your data in Google Workspace core services for advertising.’
This will help users be more comfortable turning their Search History on for Workspace apps since supposedly, the data will not be used to provide targeted ads.
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