Posted by Brianna Kuhn on July 24, 2023
True or false: You can store personal files and photos on your UW–Madison Google Drive.
Not sure? Check your answer and get a refresher on a few guidelines highlighted in Google Workspace usage policies.
As we continue Reshaping the Google Workspace Service, we’re sharing a few guidelines included from the Google Workspace Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and UW–Madison Google Workspace Terms of Use.
These agreements outline what you can and can’t do when using the product or service. Adhering to these guidelines helps lessen the risk of cybersecurity threats and protects our research, intellectual property and other data, including FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) data.
If you violate usage terms or policies, it’s possible your access could be suspended or terminated. Learn how to reduce your risk of losing access to the UW–Madison Google Workspace service by reviewing the guidelines and resources listed below.
Overview of Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) & Terms of Use guidelines
My Drive and shared drives
- Google should not be used to store personal files (including photos) or data not related to your employment or coursework at the university. (If you answered “false,” you were correct!)
- Google should not be used as a primary data backup repository or for the storage of data that is not intended for regular access and use.
If you are employed by the university, any documents you save or publish in UW–Madison Google Workspace may be subject to privacy laws such as FERPA and HIPAA, or the Wisconsin Public Records Act. For more information on Records Management, please go to the UW–Madison Record Management Program website.
Service accounts
- Users should not create end user accounts assigned to business functions rather than to human beings for the purpose of sharing files within or outside of the domain.
- To ensure campus is aligned with the AUP and Terms of Service, service account storage quotas will be reduced to 0 GB on June 1, 2024. No exceptions are available. Service accounts will still have access to the Google Workspace suite of core and non-core apps, but will not have storage. Visit the IT project page to learn more about these changes.
What should I do?
If you are not in compliance with these policies, now is the time to take action on your UW–Madison Google Workspace account by following these recommendations:
- Move your personal files out of your UW–Madison Google Workspace account to another storage location (e.g., personal Google, personal iCloud, external hard drive).
- Move backup/archived files and all files created by a service account to another storage provider.
Resources
- UW–Madison Google Workspace – Terms of Service/Use and Privacy Policy KB
- UW–Madison Google Workspace – Terms of Use KB
- Google Workspace for Education Acceptable Use Policy
- Google Workspace for Education Terms of Service
Need assistance? Have questions?
If you have questions or want to talk further, contact the Reshaping Google Workspace project team.
