Google Vault for Data Retention and E-Discovery - Gmail Data

Businesses using the Google workspace can use the Vault application to set data retention guidelines; implement litigation holds; and search for and export relevant data. Vault will provide these services for Gmail; Google Drive; Google Chat; and Google Voice [a telephone service with voicemail].

Vault applies certain rules for messages collected from Gmail:

1. While all Gmail messages will be saved in Vault, only the first 1 MB of each message will be indexed. Attachments will be indexed if the message text is less than 1 MB, but 1 MB is the limit for the complete message. The file names of audio, images, and video files will be indexed but their content will not.

2. If a Gmail message links to a file saved in Google Drive, Google Photos, or YouTube, Vault will not save a copy of it.

3. Google Calendar events; Google Sheets, and Google Docs which are emailed from the applications themselves will not be saved in Gmail by default.

4. Vault will only retain messages sent in confidential mode (where the body is replaced with a secure link) if they were sent after November 30, 2018. If messages are set to expire or the recipients' access is revoked, they will still be retained in Vault.

5. Gmail will automatically generate labels so messages can be easily categorized. So messages with account information will be automatically labeled as 'Finance'. Users can also assign labels to emails.