U-M Google Updates

The monthly U-M Google Summaries inform campus of Google releases for Core Apps as well as the Non-Core Apps (those that are not part of the G Suite for Education agreement). We communicate important information on Core Apps throughout the month. Core and Non-Core Apps are listed on the G Suite website.

Previously Communicated:

• Hangouts Chat Update
• Material Design for Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Sites on Web
• Changes to Google Groups
• Classic Google Contacts Ending
• Change for Google web product notifications
• New right-click menu options in Gmail
• Google Apps Script UI Service Ending
• A new look and feel for Gmail on mobile
• Reminder: Inbox by Gmail Ending

Note: Keep in mind that even when Non-Core Apps are found in a Core App (like Add-ons in Gmail and Google Drive), they are not covered by the G Suite for Education agreement.

Interested in our latest updates about Google G Suite at U-M? Check out the Google Service Updates page.

As we communicated in December 2018, Google stated that Google+ would remain available in U-M Google after Google retires its consumer version of G+. However, we have recently become aware that there are important exceptions that could affect some campus accounts in Google+. (Be sure to read Google’s documentation for details and the most recent updates.)

What is staying and going with U-M Google+?

According to the latest information from Google, the following U-M Google+ content will stay, with some restrictions:

• Communities: Communities that have at least one G Suite owner (i.e. U-M user or other individual with a G Suite account) will remain. See how to add owners to Communities. However, posts made by Brand Accounts and consumer Google+ users will be deleted from Communities.
• Collections: Existing Collections will remain for now. However, U-M users will not be able to create new collections or add content to a collection that is not domain-restricted.
• Circles: Existing Circles will remain for now. However, U-M users will not be able to create new circles, add people without a Google+ account to existing circles, or share a post to a circle. In addition, after the consumer shutdown, non-G Suite users will be removed from circles.

According to the latest information from Google, the following U-M Google+ content will be deleted starting April 2, 2019:

• Pages, like the U-M Google page
• Gadgets embedded in classic Sites (not the new version of Sites)
• Events

What do I need to do?

If you want to keep your content, be sure to download your Google+ data before April 2, 2019. Some alternative services to consider include:

• Google Sites: To create a public, web-based presence.
• Google Groups: U-M Discussion Groups to send and archive communications.

The ITS Collaboration Services team has been in contact with Google+ service administrators at Google and will continue to provide updates as they become available.

In January, we announced that Google would discontinue Inbox by Gmail at the end of March, 2019. This is a reminder to those who may still be using it. The Collaboration Services team strongly encourages switching to Gmail now. This should make the transition easier while Inbox is still available. Don’t worry about losing anything from Inbox, all of your email conversations are already in Gmail. If you need additional help, Google has created a transition guide to help with the switch. 

Google is finally bringing its new material design and look to Gmail on mobile.

You can quickly view attachments without opening or scrolling through the conversation. It’s also easier to switch between multiple accounts, so you can access all of your emails with a few taps.

The search button has been replaced with a more prominent search bar at the top of the screen.

Finally, similar to the browser interface, Gmail now alerts you with a red warning banner when something looks phish-y.

Google announced that they began rolling out the new interface on January 29, but have no estimate for when the update will be completed. They have communicated that the rollout will be “potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility”. Some in the U-M community have already seen this change, while others have not. For more information, visit Google’s update announcement.

Interested in our latest updates about Google G Suite at U-M? Check out the Google Service Updates page.

Google announced that it will discontinue its Apps Script UI Service on July 15, 2019.

Apps Script is a development platform used to create applications that integrate with G Suite. Only the UI service is being discontinued. Apps Script will remain available. We have notified affected U-M users based on a list we received from Google. This is a general announcement to deter any further use of the UI service. 

Google deprecated the Apps Script UI Service in December, 2014. Any projects using the Apps Script UI Service will cease to function starting July 15. While Google has no direct migration process for existing UI service projects, Google App Maker can be used to create applications in G Suite and can create similar UI applications.