The Content compliance setting enables you to specify what action to perform for messages based on predefined sets of words, phrases, text patterns, or numerical patterns. The content compliance setting scans messages for content that matches one or more rules that you configure within the setting. You can choose whether these messages are rejected or delivered with modifications -- for example, to notify others when the content of a message matches the rules that you set.

You have the option to set up Content compliance settings using regular expressions. A regular expression, also called a regex, is a method for matching text with patterns. For example, a regular expression can describe the pattern of email addresses, URLs, telephone numbers, employee identification numbers, social security numbers, or credit card numbers.

Similar to other email security settings, the Content compliance setting applies to all users in an organizational unit. Users within child organizations inherit the settings you create for the parent organization. You also have the option to add multiple Content compliance settings to each organizational unit.

To configure Content compliance settings for your domain or organizational unit:

1. Sign in to the Google Admin console. 
2. Do one of the following:
   • In the classic Admin console, click Settings > Gmail.
   • In the new Admin console, click Google Apps > Gmail > Advanced settings.
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3. In the Organizations section, highlight your domain or the organizational unit for which you want to configure settings (see Configure email settings for an organizational unit for more details).
   
   
4. Scroll to the Content compliance section:
   
   
   • If the setting's status is Not configured yet, click the Configure button near the right edge of the window (the Add setting dialog box opens).
   • If the setting's status is Locally applied or Inherited, click Edit to edit an existing setting (the Edit setting dialog box appears), or click Add another to add a new setting (the Add setting dialog box appears).
     
     
5. When you are finished making changes, click Add setting or Save to close the dialog box.
   
   Note: Any settings you add will be highlighted on the Email settings page.
   
   
6. Click Save changes at the bottom of the Email settings page.

In the Content compliance window, click Add a description if you want to enter a unique name for this setting. See the sections below for additional instructions and guidelines.

Email messages to Affect

This enables you to set the policy for inbound, outbound, and/or internal mail (sending/receiving within the set of domains associated with your organization). By default, each of the following check boxes is selected. However, if (for example) you want to limit this setting to Outbound mail, you can clear all check boxes except Outbound.

• Inbound: Messages received by your users from senders outside the set of domains associated with your company or organization
• Outbound: Messages sent by your users to recipients outside the set of domains associated with your company or organization
• Internal - sending: Messages sent by your users to recipients within the set of domains associated with your company or organization
• Internal - receiving: Messages received by your users from senders within the set of domains associated with your company or organization

Add expressions that describe the content you want to search for in each message

As you create a Content compliance setting, you specify an expression -- or a set of expressions -- in this section.

Follow these steps to add expressions:

1. Use the drop-down list to choose one of the following two options:
   
   
• If ANY of the following match the message - If you choose this option, one or more expressions will result in a match and trigger the consequences. So if you set up multiple expressions, any matching expression results in a match.
• If ALL of the following match the message - If you choose this option, then all expressions must match to trigger the consequences.
  
  Note: If you set up an expression with multiple words in it, the consequences are triggered only if the message contains the exact list of words. For example, if you set up an expression with the words football betting pool, the word "football" will not result in a match. Only the complete string of words, "football betting pool" will result in a match.
  
  
2. Click Add to add an expression. (You can add several expressions to one content compliance policy.)
   
   
• If you choose a Simple content match, enter the content to look for, and then click Save.
• If you choose an Advanced content match, select the Location of the text within the message, select the Match type, enter the content to look for, and then click Save.
  
  Note: If you choose Envelope recipients for a Location match, this compares only one recipient at a time. If there are two or more recipients, the advanced content rule does not match against all of the recipients in one string.

If the above expressions match, do the following

This section enables you to specify what action to perform on a message when the conditions are met for a Content compliance setting. You have two options in the drop-down menu: Reject message or Modify message.

Reject message
If you choose this option, the message is rejected before it reaches the intended recipient. You have the option to enter customized text for the rejection notice.

Modify message
This option enables you to modify messages by adding headers, changing the delivery (route), changing the envelope recipient, adding more recipients (additional, or secondary routes), and/or removing attachments.

Content compliance routing enables you to implement special handling for certain types of email -- for example, to route messages with specific content to your legal department. Do this by defining a new primary delivery -- or by creating additional deliveries -- that match specific text strings or patterns. For example, you can set up a content match on a word such as confidential, and then change the primary delivery to a server that supports encryption.

See the following descriptions for more details about routing and delivery controls.

For more details and step-by-step instructions about mail routing, including use cases and examples, see Manage mail routing and delivery: Guidelines and best practices.