Google Workspace not allowing + or / characters in external mail members of groups

[kartik_subbarao]

We currently have external email members of groups containing + and / characters (e.g. user+task1@example.com). This has worked fine for a long time. However, when I tried to add a new external mail member with a + or / character recently, Google Workspace rejected this. When I tested out the latest version of GCDS (4.7.18) on our existing groups, I get the following message:

Group member "user+task1@example.com" excluded from group "currentgroup@
mydomain.com", as it contains characters not allowed in an email address.

This is very concerning since + and / are perfectly legal characters in an email address. What's more, Google *recommends* the use of + characters for task-specific email addresses:

https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9308648?hl=en

Can someone help me understand why Google Workspace is disallowing + and / characters in email addresses? Can we get these characters allowed again?

[kim_nilsson]

I just did a few tests and could add users with + in their email addresses without problem.

Both in the admin console and with the free and open source API tool GAMADV-XTD3.

So, perhaps this is a limitation with GCDS only. There doesn't seem to be a specific feedback channel to GCDS devs, but have you tried talking directly to Google Support, or report it as an issue to them? I mean, create a real support case.

[KAM]

@kartik_subbarao definitely open a support ticket, this sounds like a bug and you want to get a case open! -KAM

[kartik_subbarao]

Thanks @kim_nilsson and @KAM. We have opened a support case with Google, I'm hoping it is just a GCDS bug that they're willing to fix, and not an actual policy change.

One reason I thought it was a Google Workspace-wide issue is because I couldn't add user+test@gmail.com with GAM or even through the admin console. But a colleague later pointed out that he could add user+test@yahoo.com, and you've confirmed that you can add other + email addresses. So it looks like Google is being extra strict about gmail.com, but only GCDS is blocking it from other domains.

[BBhagat4]

Hi @kartik_subbarao were you able to get the GCDS issue fixed?

[kartik_subbarao]

It was partially fixed in GCDS 5.0.22. Members with + and / characters can be added, and members with / characters can be deleted. However, there still remains a bug -- members with / characters cannot be deleted with GCDS. They can be deleted with GAM.

I have been extremely disappointed with Google support on this issue. One person will make a commitment (using words like "guarantee") and not follow up. And when we follow up, that person is long gone (or unavailable) and we have to start over from scratch. And then the new representative doesn't read through the whole case notes and/or does not understand the issue, and starts asking us for log files when they have already been provided. We have gotten other cases resolved successfully, but this issue (and others) have been terrible experiences. If a senior manager from Google is reading this message, please understand that these experiences have seriously damaged the impression that our organization has about the customer support organization in Google.