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| Google Workspace |
A few months ago, it was announced that Google Workspace was being cleaned up and that users of the free package that was launched more than a decade and a half ago would like to migrate to a paid version. This caused a lot of trouble and has meanwhile also led to repeated rowing back. A new package, the Legacy Edition, is now available too which all existing users should migrate as soon as possible.
From the perspective of the Google Cloud, Google Workspace is one of the company’s most important products. It offers a very comprehensive office package including communication, administration and, depending on the package size, other offers. But the product has a very long history behind it: Many will still remember the old name “G Suite” and long-time users may also not forget the “Google Apps” or the “Google Apps for your Domain” offer at the time.
This offering was completely free and was initially intended as a try-out starter pack to upgrade users to a more powerful paid plan. When the offer became more or less established, the free version was discontinued in 2012, although existing users were not affected. Now, ten years later, they want to finally get rid of them and a few months ago they were informed by e-mail about how things will continue in the future. You have to switch to the smallest paid package.
After several postponements, it was like this: Nothing will happen until the end of April. From June 1st, it will automatically switch to a paid workspace package, which can actually still be used free of charge for the first two months. You then have until August 1st to enter your payment details. If you don’t do this, the account will be deactivated. However, that was the old information, which is no longer valid.
What are my options if I’m using the previous free version of G Suite privately?
If you use the earlier, free version of G Suite for non-commercial purposes, you can opt-out of switching to Google Workspace. To do this, click here or go to the Admin Console. You can continue to use your custom domain with Gmail, continue to access free Google services like Google Drive and Google Meet, and keep your purchases and data.
If you do nothing, your account will be suspended on August 1, 2022. If you want to reactivate your account, you must either upgrade to Google Workspace or, for non-commercial use, disable the switch.
The earlier, free G Suite version is for personal, non-commercial use only. If you’re using the earlier, free version of G Suite for business purposes, your account will be migrated to Google Workspace. The previous free G Suite version is not supported. Certain corporate features may also be removed in the future.
If you switched to Google Workspace after January 19, 2022, and have been using the previous free version of G Suite for personal use, you can contact support.
If you use the G Suite Edition privately and not for business, you can still look forward to the free offer after migrating to the new Legacy Edition. Nothing should change and everything should still be usable, but only if you switch by June 27th. If you don’t do this, it will be switched to a new paid subscription or the account will be deactivated. In short: The changes only apply to companies and Google has once again made a buck in communication, which may have cost an unnecessarily large number of users who looked around at the competition…
Source: 9To5Google
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