Google Workspace Changes

Google Groups is introducing stricter internal and external membership classifications to improve data security.

Starting in Q2 2026, Google Groups will enforce stricter classifications for internal and external memberships. Groups that disable the 'Allow members outside your organization' setting will be strictly limited to internal members. Existing groups with external members that have this setting disabled will be automatically reclassified as external, with external additions restricted to admins. This change affects the Google Groups UI, Admin console, and various APIs (Cloud Identity, Admin SDK Directory API, and Groups Settings API), where attempts to add external members to internal groups will now result in errors.

Introduction of 'Who can modify group details' permission and expanded visibility of group settings.

Google Groups is introducing a new standalone permission, 'Who can modify group details,' which allows group owners and managers to precisely control who can edit the group's name and description, with options to grant this ability to owners, managers, or all members. Additionally, all group members will now be able to view the group settings page, although the ability to edit those settings remains dependent on the user's role and assigned permissions.