- What Google Vault can keep, hold and search
- Which Workspace editions come with Vault
- Retention rules and holds are not the same thing
- The purge traps to know before you click Create
- Matters, searches and exports in practice
- How to set up Google Vault for your organisation
- My verdict on Google Vault
- Frequently asked questions
Google Vault is the retention and eDiscovery tool for Google Workspace: it lets authorised people keep, hold, search and export your team's Gmail, Drive, Chat, Calendar, Meet and other Workspace data. It keeps nothing until you set up retention rules, and as of October 2026 every admin who uses it and every user you want covered needs a Workspace licence that includes Vault, or a Vault add-on licence.
Here's the part most small business admins miss. Google says plainly that Vault isn't a data archive. Its rules are applied straight to the data inside each Google service, so when a retention period ends and data is purged, nobody can recover it, not users and not admins. And if you delete a user or remove the licence they need, Google warns their data might be irreversibly purged and no longer available to Vault.
What Google Vault can keep, hold and search
Vault works service by service. Some services have their own rules, and others ride on Drive or Chat. This is Google's support table as of October 2026.
| Service | Retention | Hold | Search and export |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Drive | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Chat | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Groups | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Voice for Google Workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gemini app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Meet | Drive rules unless Meet-specific rules are on | Drive holds | Through Drive search |
| Google Sites | Sites rules unless they're turned off | Drive holds | Through Drive search |
| Google Vids and Google Pics | Drive rules | Drive holds | Through Drive search |
| Gemini in Workspace | Not supported | Not supported | Export only |
Two settings decide whether some of that data exists at all. Chat direct messages are only covered when Chat history is turned on, and Vault can only hold, retain and search Groups messages in groups that have archiving turned on. If your Workspace edition doesn't include a service, it may still appear in Vault, but rules and holds for it have no effect and searches come back empty.
Which Workspace editions come with Vault
Google's licence table lists Business Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Frontline Standard and Frontline Plus, all Education editions, Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus (domain-verified only) and G Suite Business, split between editions where Vault is included and editions where you can add it on. If Vault's included, every user and admin is assigned a licence automatically. If it's an add-on, you can buy licences for some or all of your people, and only licensed users are covered. If you want to see which plan you're on before deciding, my guide to Google Workspace plans walks through them.
Since November 1, 2025, admins must hold a Vault licence to keep using Vault. Being a super admin isn't enough on its own.
Retention rules and holds are not the same thing
By default, Workspace data stays in an account until the user or an admin deletes it. Retention rules change that. A default rule covers all of one service's data, and you can only have one per service. Custom rules target specific data, for example Gmail by organisational unit, date range and search terms, or Drive by created, modified or trashed dates. You can set a period from 1 to 36,500 days, or keep data indefinitely. When several custom rules apply, the one that ends last wins, and custom Gmail rules always beat the default Gmail rule.
Holds are different because they never expire. They preserve data for named accounts, an organisational unit or a group until someone removes them, and they override every retention rule. Holds also stack: remove one and anything still matching another hold stays protected. While a user has data on hold, an admin can't delete their account or transfer their data.
That last point is why Google strongly recommends you don't put a hold on the top organisational unit. If you do, you won't be able to delete any Workspace accounts in your organisation, even ones with nothing matching the hold's terms.
The purge traps to know before you click Create
- Vault lets a service purge data that's past the retention period as soon as you submit a new rule, including data people expect to keep.
- Shortening a default rule or unsetting it can let a service purge data you wanted.
- When a hold is deleted or a person is removed from it, data they deleted more than 30 days ago may be purged straight away.
- Downgrading someone on hold to an edition without Vault ends the hold unless you assign an add-on licence first.
- Auto-deletion of email and chat in the Admin console interferes with Vault rules, so Google says to set it to keep messages.
Google's own advice is to test new rules on a small group of users before applying them to everyone, and to involve whoever handles legal or compliance for you.
Matters, searches and exports in practice
Holds, searches and exports all live inside a matter, which Google describes as a container for one eDiscovery project such as a dispute or an investigation. The person who creates it owns it and can share it. You can't close a matter until its holds are deleted, and closing it deletes its export files immediately. A deleted matter can be restored for about 30 days, then it's gone.
Search works by account, organisational unit, date or keyword, and Vault can only find data that hasn't been purged. It can't search inside video, audio or image files, and a wildcard that matches 100 or more words in one account returns no results. Exports come with a metadata file and proof the data matches what's on Google's servers. A few limits matter here: export files are available for 15 days from the start, your organisation can run no more than 20 exports at once, and a big export that hasn't finished after 24 hours stops with partial results you can continue.
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One surprise: super admins don't automatically see every export. They only see exports they own and ones in matters shared with them.
How to set up Google Vault for your organisation
- As a super admin, buy Vault licences if your edition doesn't include them, then assign them to every user you want covered and every Vault admin.
- In the Admin console, make sure email and chat messages aren't set to delete automatically.
- Turn on Vault for the people who should sign in. This doesn't change whose data can be retained or searched.
- Create an admin role with the Vault privileges each person needs and assign it. Roles usually arrive in minutes but can take up to 24 hours.
- If you've just bought Vault or started the trial, wait 30 to 60 minutes, then sign in at vault.google.com.
- Under Retention, open the Default rules tab, pick a service, choose Indefinitely or a period, and accept the confirmation.
- Optionally, turn on Multi-party approval so a second admin has to approve each export requested in Vault.
On privileges, creating an export needs both Manage Searches and Manage Exports, and Manage Matters on its own won't let anyone open a matter. Google says accounts with Vault privileges should be treated as sensitive, because they can see other people's data.
My verdict on Google Vault
I'd set up default retention rules in Vault if you're on an edition that includes it and you've ever had a client complaint, a staff dispute or a regulator asking questions, because Vault only helps with data it was told to keep. I'd skip it as a backup plan, because it isn't one. If you're comparing it with dedicated legal tools, I've rounded up the main eDiscovery options separately.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Google Vault a backup tool?
No. Google says Vault isn't a data archive. Its rules apply to data inside each Google service, and data purged when a retention period ends can't be recovered by users or admins.
Does Google Vault keep data automatically?
No. Vault doesn't retain anything until you set up retention rules or holds. Until then, users can delete data and services purge it under their normal rules.
How long are Google Vault exports available?
Export files are available for 15 days after you start the export. After that they're deleted and you'd need to create the export again.
Can I delete a user who is on a Vault hold?
No. If a user has any data on hold, a Google Workspace admin can't delete their account until the hold is removed.
Do Vault admins need their own licence?
Yes. As of October 2026, admins must have a Google Workspace licence that includes Vault, or a Vault add-on licence, to use Vault.
