Google Apps Vault is an add-on for Google Apps that lets you retain, archive, search, and export your organization’s email for your eDiscovery and compliance needs. If you’ve never worked with this kind of software before it can be intimidating. This is part 1 of a series to help Google Apps Administrators to understand the basics of Google Vault.
Part 1 – How Retention Works:
Terms to know:
As an end user
1) Delete: users move messages to the trash. After 30 days, Gmail’s normal behavior is to expunge emails from the trash.
2) Delete forever: users permanently delete messages from user mailboxes by emptying the trash; users cannot recover these messages. When users delete forever, messages are marked to be expunged from all Google systems.
As a Google Vault administrator:
1) Remove: messages are removed from user mailboxes. These messages are then marked to be expunged. Before expunging, Vault admins can still search for and display these messages in Vault.
2) Expunge: messages are permanently removed from Google systems, including Vault. After expunge, the messages are not available in any system.
3) Retention rule: a policy that sets a limit on the number of days that messages are available to users. Messages match criteria that are in the rule (for example, users, terms used in messages, organizational units) and are retained for the retention period (if users haven’t deleted forever on their own). A rule always includes a retention period.
4) Retention period: the number of days that messages are available to users if users have not deleted forever. After the retention period has expired, messages are removed from user mailboxes. They are then marked to be expunged. The retention period begins the day that an email is received.
5) Period before expunge: a maximum of 30 days. During this period, Vault admins can still search for and find messages in Vault. After this period passes, the messages are expunged. See the scenarios below to understand when this period begins.
How it works:
Retention rules enable your institution to retain messages for a desired amount of time. After messages are no longer in user mailboxes, these messages are marked to be expunged from all Google systems, including Vault. The period before expunge can be up to 30 more days beyond the retention period expiration. After they are expunged, these messages are no longer accessible from anywhere.
If users leave messages in their mailboxes, these messages are removed from those mailboxes when an applicable retention period expires. For 30 more days, Vault admins can search for and find these messages. After the 30 days, these messages are expunged from all Google systems.
If users delete messages forever from their mailboxes, the period before expunge is at least the full retention period set in the retention rule. Before expunge, Vault admins can search for and find these messages.
“What if” Scenarios (180 day retention period):
Scenario 1 – User leaves email in inbox
Let’s say that the message is received on May 1.
What happens to this message:
- The message is removed from user mailboxes on day 181, the day after the retention period expires. If the rule applies to a message in the trash, it is also removed at day 181.
- The period before expunge begins. The Vault admin can still search for and find this message for 30 more days.
- The message is expunged on day 211 (181 + 30 more days), which is November 28.
Scenario 2 – The day that an email is delivered, a user deletes the message forever
The message is received and deleted forever on May 1.<
What happens to this message:
- The period before expunge goes into effect the day users deleted the message forever from their mailboxes.
- Expunging is based on retention period: May 1 (send/receive date) + 180-day retention period. Expunge is on October 28.
Scenario 3 – An email is deleted forever further into the retention period
The message is received on May 1. On day 40, users delete the message forever.
What happens to this message:
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The period before expunging goes into effect on day 40.
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Expunging is based on retention period: May 1 (send/receive date) + 180-day retention. Expunge is on October 28.
Scenario 4 – Further into the retention period a user deletes an email message (trash).
The message is received on May 1. On day 160, users move this message to the trash. They do not empty the trash. In other words, they do not delete forever.
What happens to this message:
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On day 181, the message is removed from users’ trash. (After 30 days, Gmail’s normal behavior is to expunge emails from the trash. But this message is removed at day 181 to adhere with the retention rule.)
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The period before expunge begins.
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The message is expunged on day 211 (181 + 30 more days). Expunge is November 28.
We hope you’ve found this introduction useful. If you want to talk more about Google Apps for Business Vault or anything else business technology related call or chat with us now.