Need informations about google workspace logs

[Rayen]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to Google Workspace, and I need some help with compliance matters.

Can an admin access a user's email and Drive without their consent?

If yes, when the admin downloads or opens a file, or even sends an email using delegation, are the logs recorded under the admin's name or the user's name?

Thank you!

[SergioAlvarez]

Hello, 

No, an admin has no access to the user's data without consent. However, there are audit procedures that you can take depending on the type of license. If you have a license that supports Vault, you can do a Vault search for email and drive, if you have enterprise plus. you are able to look at log data for drive and gmail. 

[loundy_mark]

I'm a non-super admin in an education domain. We have always been told that we have no expectation of privacy and that all of our data was visible to the admins.

[KAM]

@loundy_mark I would agree with you.  A user in most organizational settings has no expectation of privacy and their data can be read by superadmins without any interaction from the user.

For example, a superadmin could change their password and disable 2SV.  They can use vault, etc.  There would be an audit trail for this but no consent per se is needed at most organizations.

-KAM

[loundy_mark]

I would add that it can also be read with no awareness on the use’rs part, either.

[andrew231]

The history of these events, at least in business SKUs, is that it is logged. If through investigation tool or vault, that admin's activity is auditable.