Place Google Chat and classic Hangouts messages on hold

As part of your Google Workspace data eDiscovery projects, you can use holds to preserve Chat and classic Hangouts messages indefinitely to meet legal or preservation obligations. You can apply a hold to individual accounts or all accounts in an organizational unit. Holds override retention rules, so data on hold is protected from your standard information governance rules that might purge it otherwise.

If your Google Workspace administrator removes a user's Vault-supporting license, Vault holds no longer protect the user's data from deletion. Data marked for deletion can be immediately purged and can't be restored. Learn more about Preserving data for users.

Important information about Chat and classic Hangouts holds

Before you set holds, we recommend you read Get started with holds in Google Vault and review the Chat messages and Classic Hangouts messages supported in Vault.

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What data can be held

Covered:

• Messages and their attachments sent with history on, in Chat and classic Hangouts
• DMs sent by external users to your users
• Messages sent by external users in your organization’s group messages and spaces

Not covered:

• Messages sent with history off
• Linked files
• Messages in external Chat spaces
• Previewed messages
• Images sent in classic Hangouts

For details, see Supported services and data types.

Holding messages in Chat spaces

Unlike Chat retention rules, holds can be placed only on individual accounts or organizational units. Holds can't be set on Chat spaces exclusively. However, you can include messages in Chat spaces associated with the accounts that are on hold by checking a box when you create the hold.

Box unchecked (default)

Box checked

DMs in Chat and classic Hangouts Messages in Chat group conversations created before early December 2020 Group conversations in classic Hangouts

All messages when the box is unchecked, plus certain messages* in the following spaces: Threaded spaces (spaces with messages in conversations) Unthreaded spaces Group conversations in Chat created after early December 2020 (Note: If your organization still uses classic Hangouts, these messages are synced to classic Hangouts and will be included in holds by default until classic Hangouts is shut down)

*The messages in Chat spaces that Vault includes in a hold depend on the type of Chat space:

• Threaded spaces—Vault holds a conversation if a user on hold sent at least one message and the space was created by someone in your organization. Conversations where the user wasn't an active participant aren't included in the hold, even though that user might have viewed messages.
• Unthreaded spaces—Vault holds all messages if a user on hold was a member of the space, even if they didn’t send any messages. If all users on hold leave a space, only messages sent before the last user on hold left are included in the hold.
• Group conversations in Chat created after early December 2020—Vault holds messages if a user on hold was a member of the group chat, even if they didn’t send any messages. If all users on hold leave a group chat, only messages sent before the last user on hold left are included in the hold.
• External Chat spaces—Holds don't apply to messages sent in Chat spaces owned by another organization.

DMs and most group messages sent to a user on hold are preserved by the hold even if the user doesn't reply or if the sender is an external user.

Deleted messages on hold are always visible in Vault, but not visible to users

When a message that's on hold is deleted by a user or a retention rule, the user can't access the message anymore but the message isn't purged. As a Vault admin with appropriate privileges, you can still search for, preview, and export the message using Vault.

Place a hold on Chat and classic Hangouts messages

1. Sign in to https://vault.google.com.
2. Click Matters.
3. If the matter already exists, click it to open it. Otherwise, create a matter:
   1. Click Create.
   2. Enter a name for the matter and, optionally, a description.
   3. Click Create.
4. Click HoldsCreate.
5. Enter a unique name for the hold.
6. Click Choose service Chat.
7. Click Continue.
8. Select the scope of the hold:
   • Specific accounts—Enter one or more account or group email addresses.
   • Organizational unit—Select an organizational unit.

     Note: We strongly recommend that you don’t select the top organizational unit. You won’t be able to delete any Google Workspace accounts from your organization. Learn more

9. Choose if you want the hold to include messages in Chat spaces.

10. Click Continue.

11. Click Create.

Edit a hold on Chat and classic Hangouts messages

You can change some hold parameters, but you can't change the service (Chat to another service) or the scope type (such as accounts to an organizational unit).

1. Sign in to https://vault.google.com.
2. Click Matters and then the matter that contains the hold.
3. To change the accounts or organizational units that are covered by the hold:
   1. Click Scope.
   2. Add or remove accounts or change the organizational unit.

      Note: You can't add accounts to a hold that covers an organizational unit, and you can't add organizational units to a hold that covers specific accounts.

      If you remove all accounts, you're prompted to delete the hold.

   3. Click Continue.
4. To change if the hold applies to messages in Chat spaces:
   1. Click Scope.
   2. Click Include conversations in Chat spaces.
5. Click Save.