Good news for Gmail users: Client-side encryption will soon be available in beta on the web. According to Google, the feature would be added to the remaining services in a later update.
The Google Workspace apps are considered some of the top corporate productivity solutions. The suite includes a wide range of services, including Docs, Slides, Sheets, Chat, Meet, and, of course, Gmail. For users, keeping each app updated is key, and the next one is no exception!
Here are all the details.
Gmail’s Update Explained: Client-side Encryption
Currently, the only ones who can benefit from client-side encryption are those on Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus. The rest, including those with personal Google accounts and previous G Suite Basic and Business subscriptions, are still waiting for an upgrade.
What’s the deal with client-side encryption?
According to Google’s CSE support page, we learn that admins of organizations will have great power over which individual in the company has access to the keys. And such a thing includes the ability to monitor the users’ encrypted files. On the other hand, end-to-end encryption doesn’t allow admins to view the users’ encrypted files.
And that’s not all.
The tech giant explains that CSE emails won’t support several features, including Smart Compose, multi-send mode, translation, summaries, signatures, translation, Confidential mode, and more.
Additionally, CSE on Gmail prevents users from searching the plain-text contents of encrypted messages and prevents access to them for third-party add-ons. That’s quite a lot of information to digest, isn’t it?!
So, what you should keep in mind is that CSE is advised for “highly regulated” businesses like the government, aerospace, defense, and, of course, financial institutions.
Google adds that the feature is presently testing for Calendar but is already accessible for its other products, including Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sheets, Drive, and Meet.
You can actually sign up to test the Gmail client-side encryption beta until January 20, 2023. Google still needs to provide a release date for CSE, but it will eventually come to Gmail for iOS and Android.