UW Google


Please note: UW Google is undergoing several major changes. For more details and regular updates, see UW Google Changes Project.

About UW Google

UW Google is UW-IT's implementation of the Google productivity, collaboration, and email platform known as Google Workspace for Education (formerly known as Google G Suite and Google Apps). The UW Google service offering is similar to Google's consumer apps, but is free of advertising and has greater privacy protections.

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Getting Started

UW Google offers a convenient suite of productivity and collaboration tools that include but are not limited to: the ability to send and receive email, share and view calendars as well as easily schedule meetings with others, and the option to create websites without web developer skills.

Important Details

UW Google accounts come with with access to both UW Google Core Services and Google Consumer Services. Only the UW Google Core Services are covered by UW agreements. While the Google Consumer Services and other third-party offerings will prompt and require an acceptance of the terms of use, these are strictly consumer terms and are not covered by the UW agreements.

UW Google Core Services

The following UW Google Core Services are covered by the UW Google enterprise agreement for use with your UWNetID@uw.edu Google account and are considered FERPA-aligned.

Google Consumer Services and Third-Party Services

While Google offers additional Consumer and Third-Party Services, please be aware that these services are not subject to the same agreements we have in place for the UW Google Core Services (above), and most importantly, are not considered compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Click to read more about FERPA for UW students and FERPA for UW faculty and staff.

Activating Your UW Google Account

Before you can use UW Google, you must activate your account. You may activate your account without changing your current UW email forwarding to send new mail to UW Google.

Email forwarding advisory: Only email sent directly from a UW email address (@uw.edu) can be reliably delivered to the email forwarding address you select on the manage email forwarding page. For more information, please review our email forwarding information page.

To activate your UW Google account, follow these steps:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Go to the Manage UW Google page to activate the service and set your UW Google password. Once activated, your Google login is your_uwnetid@uw.edu (where your_uwnetid is your actual UW NetID).
  3. If you want to forward your email to UW Gmail, use the UW NetID manage page and select "Forward to UW Google". If you want to use Google without using Google's email service, you can skip this step. Note to UW Medicine workforce members: You are prohibited from forwarding email to UW Google, as it is not HIPAA compatible. For more information on this policy, please contact comply@uw.edu.

Using UW Google

All UW Google Core Services, including Gmail, Calendar, Drive, etc., use your UW NetID and password for access.

To access UW Gmail

To access other UW Google apps from your UW Google page

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Using UW Groups with Google

UW Groups can be configured for use with the Google Groups App, and can also be used to manage permissions in UW Google; activation is done through the UW Groups service. Please see the Google Groups page for more information on how to get started using UW Groups with Google.

Getting Help

For assistance with activating or logging into your UW Google account, please contact UW-IT at the following:

Known Issues

Certain UW Google features are not activated in order to maintain student privacy. This includes features like Gmail Labs, and many of the Additional Apps found in the Google Marketplace.

Data Retention Policy

A single data retention policy does not apply to the UW Google service due to the broad scope of administrative, academic, and personal information created and stored via this service. Consequently, users of this service are responsible for managing and deleting their UW Google documents in accordance with University of Washington retention guidelines. For more information, please refer to the UW Records Management Services website.

Access to UW Google is contingent upon an active affiliation with the University of Washington. Upon departure from the UW, a UW Google account and data associated with a UW NetID will be deleted according to the timelines defined on the UW Google Account & Data Deletion page.

Learn More

Below is a list of resources provided by Google for more information on the vendor's products and services. Please remember to consult with UW-IT before proceeding with any solutions that are outside of the UW Google Core Services.