Google is finally out a solution for people with “old” Google G Suite accounts. After initially threatening to close free G Suite accounts if users don’t start paying for the service, Google completely backtracked. After the user passes several rounds of registration, Google will allow their ~16 year old account to continue working. You will even get your email address.
The story so far, if you haven’t followed, is that Google has a custom domain user account service, now called “Google Workspace“and formerly known as “G Suite” and “Google Apps”. This service is essentially a normal Google account that allows you to use email that ends with your custom domain name instead of “@gmail.com”. com”. This service is business-oriented today and costs money every month, but not always. From 2006 to 2012, a custom domain Google account was free and was even displayed at home as a fun way to get a Google identity online.
In January, some bean counters at Google apparently noticed that this small group of longtime users was technically getting a free paid service and decided this was unacceptable. In January, Google posted a notice claiming these people were “Old G Suite Users” and essentially told them that “Pay or lose your account. “These users have signed up for a free Google service and stored data on it for 16 years, and there’s no indication that it will be charged. Google has held user data for over 16 years. this decade, require users to start paying business rates for Workspaces or face account closure.
A week later, after the inevitable outcry from the public, Google a bit disheartened and vaguely says it will eventually offer “an option for you to migrate your non-Google Workspace paid content and most of your data to a free option.” Saying you’ll be able to keep “most of your data” that you’ve accumulated over 16 years is a pretty alarming statement. A Google specific bit in January was that “this new option won’t include premium features like custom email”, so you’ll have to stop archiving your email with Google and you’ll probably have to use some wild Google account Transition. It then let these users worry about flying in the wind, without further details, for six months.
How to save your free G Suite account
In May, Google finally told these users what to expect with their accounts. The New support page says, “For individuals and families using your account for non-commercial purposes, you can continue to use the old free version of G Suite and opt out of the transition to Google Workspace .” The link for that is this or in your G Suite admin panel. You’ll need to confirm that your G Suite account is for personal and not business use, as businesses still have to pay for Workspace. If you did Google’s will and started paying for Workspace because of the announcement in January, Google said you should contact help.
The biggest news from this latest announcement is that Google has decided not to use people’s custom emails. One second support page says, “You can continue to use your custom domain with Gmail, maintain access to free Google services like Google Drive and Google Meet, and keep your purchases and data.” friend.” Now, it looks like there won’t be any changes to your account, as long as you click through the “switch yourself” screen ahead of time.
The deadline to opt out of your account, which has now changed several times, is June 27, 2022. If you do not complete this opt-out by June 27, you will automatically be charged for Workspace. . If you do not have a card on file and do not opt out, your account will be suspended on August 1 and closed.
Automatic subscriptions and payments, without explicit user consent, are one of the wilder parts of this story. If you don’t follow the tech news scene closely, chances are you won’t know this is coming and you’ll suddenly be charged without your consent or notice that your Google account you suddenly stopped working.
For a company whose main business is persuading users to store large amounts of data on their servers, playing games like this is a strange decision. At least it came to a logical conclusion.
This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.
