What Google Workspace's terms say about your data

Who owns the data the customer puts in?

The customer · covers all customer data (mail, files, chat)

1. Headline Every plan covers all customer data (mail, files, chat)

   The customer

   As between the parties, Customer retains all Intellectual Property Rights in Customer Data and Customer Applications, and Google retains all Intellectual Property Rights in the Services and Software.

   Google Cloud Terms of Service (Google Workspace Terms of Service integrated into it; served at the Workspace terms URL) (terms), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Section 5.1 of the Google Cloud Terms of Service, which since the 2026-10-12 version also govern Google Workspace ("The Google Workspace Terms of Service have been integrated into our Google Cloud Terms of Service"). Same section: Customer Data is Customer's Confidential Information.

Does the vendor train AI on it?

Opt-in: off unless the customer turns it on^* · covers mail, files, chat, Gemini prompts and responses; all customer data

1. Headline Every plan covers mail, files, chat, Gemini prompts and responses

   Generative: opt-in

   Google will not use Customer Data to train or fine-tune any of its generative artificial intelligence models supporting the Google Workspace Generative AI Services without Customer's prior permission or instruction.

   Google Workspace Service Specific Terms (terms), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Service Specific Terms 12.11 "Training Restriction" (contractual). The Privacy Hub points to this section and says user prompts are Customer Data under the Cloud DPA.

2. Supporting Every plan covers Workspace content used by Gemini

   Generative: opt-in

   Your content is not human reviewed or otherwise used for Generative AI model training outside your domain without permission.

   Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub (ai policy), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Privacy Hub (last updated October 6, 2026). Gemini Notebook goes further: uploads, queries and responses "will not otherwise be used to train generative AI models". Feedback users choose to send is used to improve products but "is not used to train any of the generative AI models that support Google Workspace Generative AI Services".

3. Headline Every plan covers all customer data

   Other models: opt-in^*

   Workspace does not use customer data for training models without customer's prior permission or instruction.

   Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub (ai policy), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Reading: the sentence says "training models" without limiting it to generative models, but it answers the FAQ "Does Google use my data (including prompts) to train generative AI models?", and the contract clause it cites (Service Specific Terms 12.11) covers generative models only. Backing for a wider no-training reading: Terms 5.2 limits processing to the Cloud DPA, whose Instructions are "to provide, secure, and monitor the Services" plus the customer's own instructions. No document names non-generative models (for example spam filtering) trained on Customer Data either way.

Does the vendor keep a right to use it aggregated, de-identified or as usage data?

Not reserved · covers customer data (mail, files, chat)

1. Headline Every plan covers customer data (mail, files, chat)

   Not reserved

   Google will only access, use, and otherwise process Customer Data in accordance with the Cloud Data Processing Addendum and will not access, use, or process Customer Data for any other purpose.

   Google Cloud Terms of Service (Google Workspace Terms of Service integrated into it; served at the Workspace terms URL) (terms), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Terms 5.2. The Cloud DPA (5.2) limits processing to providing, securing and monitoring the Services and the customer's instructions; no right to aggregate or de-identify Customer Data for Google's own use is reserved in the Terms, Service Specific Terms or DPA.

2. Detail Every plan covers Service Data: account, billing, support and usage metadata, not Customer Data

   Reserved

   To achieve these processing purposes, we use algorithms to recognize patterns in Service Data, manual review of Service Data (such as when you interact directly with our billing or support teams), aggregation or anonymization of Service Data to eliminate personal information, and combination of Service Data with information from other Google products and services.

   Google Cloud Privacy Notice (Service Data) (privacy policy), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   About 50 words; kept whole for meaning. The notice "applies solely to Service Data and does not apply to Customer Data or Partner Data"; Service Data is "the personal information Google collects or generates during the provision and administration of the Cloud Services", excluding Customer Data.

What can the customer export, and who can run it?

Everything by an admin through an admin screen · covers all users' Gmail, Drive, Chat, Calendar and other core service data, shared drives included

1. Headline Every plan covers all users' Gmail, Drive, Chat, Calendar and other core service data, shared drives included

   Everything by an admin through an admin screen

   These steps initiate a full export of your organization's data and are available in all Google Workspace editions.

   Export all your organization's data (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Data Export tool in the Admin console (Data > Data import & export > Data export). Needs a super admin account at least 30 days old with 2-Step Verification; orgs with more than 1000 users or FedRAMP must contact support first. Export is available no earlier than 48 hours after it starts, typically takes 72 hours, up to 14 days; lands in a Google Cloud Storage bucket as zip files per user and service, deleted after 60 days. Excludes deleted data unless held by Vault and accounts created in the last 24 hours. Needs an active subscription.

2. Detail Every plan covers each user's own Gmail, Drive and other data

   Part of it by any member through a self-serve screen, once the vendor approves

   To let your users download their data, allow Google Takeout and refer users to How to download your Google data

   Export all your organization's data (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Users export only their own data, and only if an admin allows Google Takeout (hence needs_approval). Takeout formats were not read, so formats is empty. The admin Data Export tool "exports the same data that's available with Google Takeout for users" plus admin-only data such as Vault-retained items.

How much history does the plan keep?

All of it · covers mail, Drive files, Chat messages

1. Headline Every plan covers mail, Drive files, Chat messages

   All of it

   By default, Google Workspace data stays in user accounts until the user or admin deletes it.

   How retention works (Google Vault) (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   No plan deletes old data on its own. Plans differ in storage, not in history kept. Items users delete go to trash first; that is user deletion, not a retention limit.

2. Detail Business Plus, Enterprise covers mail, Drive files, Chat messages under Vault retention rules

   All of it

   When a retention rule is applied to a message or file, the item is deleted from the service, even if the user has not marked it for deletion.

   How retention works (Google Vault) (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Default stays keep-everything; admins with Google Vault can choose rules that purge data after a set time (example on the page: a 365-day Gmail rule "deletes every message older than 1 year"). Vault overview: "users must have a Google Workspace license that includes Google Vault"; its table lists Business Plus and Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus among editions with Vault, with add-on licenses for others (table flattened in text, see open).

How long is data kept after the account ends, and can it still be exported?

Kept 210 days, no export^* · covers all customer data

1. Headline Every plan covers all customer data

   Kept 210 days, no export^*

   After a recovery period of up to 30 days from that date, Google will comply with this Instruction as soon as reasonably practicable and within a maximum period of 180 days

   Cloud Data Processing Addendum (Customers) (data processing addendum), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Cloud DPA 6.2 "Return or Deletion When Term Ends": customer instructs deletion of all remaining Customer Data at the end of the Term. days=210 is our sum of the up-to-30-day recovery period and the 180-day maximum (an outer limit, not a promised keep). export_window=false rests on the export help ("This data is excluded from the export if your Google Workspace subscription is canceled or suspended"), the cancel help and Terms 9 (access to Customer Data ends on termination). DPA 6.2: to keep data, the customer must ask for its return "during the Term".

2. Supporting Every plan covers Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Drive data

   Kept 210 days, no export

   After you cancel your Google Workspace subscription, your users' Google Workspace data will be deleted and can't be restored.

   Cancel a Google Workspace subscription (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   The page says to download data with the Data Export tool before cancelling. Cancelling does not remove user accounts, groups or org structure unless the organization's Google Account is deleted. Cloud Identity customers keep view-only access to shared drives.

3. Supporting Every plan covers core service data (Gmail, Drive, Chat)

   Kept 210 days, no export

   This data is excluded from the export if your Google Workspace subscription is canceled or suspended.

   Export all your organization's data (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Backs export_window=false: the admin Data Export tool needs an active Workspace subscription for core services.

4. Supporting Every plan covers all customer data

   Kept 210 days, no export

   If this Agreement or an Order Form is terminated or not renewed, then (a) all rights and access to the Services (or in the case of termination of an Order Form, the applicable Services) will terminate (including access to Customer Data, if applicable)

   Google Cloud Terms of Service (Google Workspace Terms of Service integrated into it; served at the Workspace terms URL) (terms), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Terms section 9 (effects of termination). Sentence continues "unless otherwise described in this Agreement or the Order Form"; no post-termination export period is described.

5. Detail Every plan covers My Drive files and Chat history, email-verified subscriptions only

   No fixed window; export on request

   All your users' data in My Drive stays with the user accounts, which will be converted to unmanaged consumer accounts.

   Cancel a Google Workspace subscription (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Option "Let users keep their data and delete my organization's account" for email-verified (Business, signed up without a domain) subscriptions: the organization "waive[s] any rights to own and manage the data" and shared drives are deleted. The other option deletes all user and shared drive data: "Deletion can take up to 90 days".

What the read couldn't settle

• Plans grouped: 'Enterprise' means Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus; Enterprise Starter, Essentials, Frontline and Education editions not split out. Business plans can buy Vault as an add-on, so Vault retention rules are not strictly Business Plus and up.
• Vault license table on the overview page flattens to text ('Vault licenses included' then 'Vault add-on licenses available'), so which column lists Business Plus is read from order only; check in a browser.
• ai_training other_models=opt_in is a reading of a Privacy Hub sentence that says 'training models' in a generative-AI FAQ; no document names non-generative models trained on Customer Data.
• after_cancel days=210 is our sum of the DPA's up-to-30-day recovery period and 180-day deletion maximum; Google gives no single figure.
• The Workspace Terms of Service were merged into the Google Cloud Terms of Service (version 2026-10-12); workspace.google.com/terms/ returns 404. Customers who bought through a reseller have a separate 'Resold Customers' clause, not read.
• Document versions for help pages are the 'Last updated' date in each page footer; DPA and Cloud Privacy Notice versions are the current-version date shown before their 'Previous versions' lists.

Documents

9 of 9 read. Each fact above names the one it comes from.

1. Google Cloud Terms of Service (Google Workspace Terms of Service integrated into it; served at the Workspace terms URL) Terms · version 2026-10-12 · read 2026-10-22
2. Google Workspace Service Specific Terms Terms · version 2026-10-12 · read 2026-10-22
3. Cloud Data Processing Addendum (Customers) Data processing addendum · version 2026-06-08 · read 2026-10-22
4. Google Cloud Privacy Notice (Service Data) Privacy policy · version 2026-10-15 · read 2026-10-22
5. Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub AI policy · version 2026-10-06 · read 2026-10-22
6. Export all your organization's data Help article · version 2026-10-20 · read 2026-10-22
7. Cancel a Google Workspace subscription Help article · version 2026-10-20 · read 2026-10-22
8. How retention works (Google Vault) Help article · version 2026-10-20 · read 2026-10-22
9. Google Vault overview and license requirements Plans page · version 2026-10-20 · read 2026-10-22