Permission settings determine who can view, post, and moderate content in Google Groups. Permissions also determine who can manage members and other group settings.
Default roles
By default, members with the owner role have all permissions for a group. Many of these permissions can be assigned to other sets of users. Review all member and content management permissions.
Only an owner can:
- Delete a group.
- Make another group member an owner.
- Change another owner’s settings.
- Export group messages using Google Takeout.
Only group owners and managers can change a group’s settings.
If you’re signed into a work or school account, for a given group, an administrator can remove some owner permissions, but not others:
- Can remove—Post messages or add, invite, or approve new members.
- Cannot remove—View members or conversations or contact other owners.
A group can’t be the owner of another group.
Recommended
Assigning someone the owner role gives them the greatest control over the group, so we recommend keeping the number of owners low.
By default, managers can do everything that owners can do except:
- Delete the group.
- Make another member an owner.
- Change an owner’s role or subscription settings.
Group owners can set any permission to owner-only, further limiting what managers can do. However, managers always have the ability to adjust permissions to include managers.
A group can’t be a manager of another group.
By default, group members have basic permissions. Depending on the organization and group settings, these permissions might include viewing and posting to conversations and viewing members. Group owners and managers can add to or limit members’ permissions. Any permissions that are set for the member role are automatically given to managers and owners.
View or change permissions for sets of users
Requires the Owner or Manager role.
You can view permissions individually and assign each permission to a role. You can also allow everyone on the web to have that permission, even if they’re not a member of the group.
Some permissions affect which options are available for other permissions. So for example, you can only allow everyone on the web to view members if you’ve already allowed them to see the group. In addition, if you’re signed in to a work or school account, your administrator can limit the sets of users you can assign each permission to.
In the previous version of Groups, you could exclude a subset of group members. For example, you could select group members for a permission but exclude group managers. The ability to set exclusions no longer exists. If you set an exclusion in the previous version of Groups, the exclusion remains in place in the new version. You can see it as a white circle above the user set name on the slider for that permission. However, if you make any changes to the permission, the exclusion disappears and you can’t revert back to it.
- Sign in to Google Groups.
- Click the name of a group.
- On the left, click Group settings.
- To locate permission settings, look for entries with a slider:
- Choose which users get that permission. For:
- Default roles, entire organization, and everyone on the web—Move the slider to the user option you want.
- Custom roles—Next to the slider, click the list and select the role.
Choosing a custom role assigns the permission to anyone in this custom role plus the default role you selected on the slider.
- Repeat step 6 for each permission.
- Click Save changes.
Tip: You can see an exclusion created in the prior version of Groups on the slider for a particular permission as a white circle above the user set name. However, if you change the permission, the exclusion disappears. You can’t revert back to it.
Permission settings reference
Use these tables to review the available permissions and what they control.
General
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Who can view conversations | Users can view conversations in Groups if these are enabled. |
| Who can post | Users can start and participate in group conversations. |
| Who can view members | Users can see the group’s members list. |
Member privacy
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Who can contact group owners | Control who can send messages to group owners. |
| Who can view member email addresses | Control who can view member email addresses in the Groups UI. Email addresses might still be visible in other Workspace apps. |
Posting policies
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Who can reply privately to authors | Control who can send email to authors privately. |
| Who can attach files | Control who can post messages with attachments. |
| Who can moderate content | This includes approving, deleting, and locking messages and conversations. |
| Who can moderate metadata | This includes categorizing content and all Collaborative inbox features. |
| Who can post as group | This includes posting messages from the group’s email address. |
Member moderation
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Who can manage members | Control who is allowed to add and remove group members. |
| Who can modify custom roles | Control who can create, delete, and update the name and description of custom roles. |
For more detailed information about message moderation, check out Approve or block new messages.
Create or edit a custom role
Requires the Owner or Manager role.
If you want a role that’s different from the default roles, you can create a custom role. Some permissions can only be given to owners, managers, and members and not to custom roles.
To assign permissions to custom roles, see View or change permissions for roles.
- Sign in to Google Groups.
- Click the name of a group.
- On the left, click Group settings
Member moderation.
- Under Custom roles, click Create custom role.
- Enter a name and description for the new role.
Name the role something that can be shared publicly and is singular (for example, “Contributor,” not “Contributors”). - Click Create role.
- To edit the role name or description:
- Under Custom roles, next to the role name, click Edit
.
- Enter a new name or description.
- Click Save changes.
- Under Custom roles, next to the role name, click Edit
Change roles for individual members
Requires the Who can manage members permission.
- Sign in to Google Groups.
- Click the name of a group.
- On the left, click Members.
- To change a single member's role—Point to a member and in the Role column, select a role.
- To assign the same role to multiple members:
- Point to each member whose settings you want to change and check the box next to their name.
- Above the list on the right, click Change role
.
- Select the new role.
Requires the Who can manage members permission.
Only members who are already in the group can be added to a custom role. If a member is later removed from the group, they are automatically removed from the custom role.
- Sign in to Google Groups.
- Click the name of a group.
- On the left, click Group settings
- Under Custom roles, next to the role name, click Edit
- Enter the member’s email address.
- When the member’s entry appears, select it. Or, to select the first entry displayed, press Enter or Return.
- (Optional) Repeat steps 5 and 6 to add additional members to the role.
- Click Add members.