What's Changing with UTmail?

What Changes Are Happening to UTmail?

Due to licensing changes imposed by Google, UTmail accounts will no longer offer unlimited storage beginning in late 2022.

These changes will ensure that the total UTmail storage complies with the new maximum put in place by Google to prevent loss of data, service outages, and security risks:

• Students, faculty, and staff will be limited to 5GB of storage for their Gmail and Google Workspace accounts. 
  
  
• Alumni, former students, and retirees will be limited to 1GB of email storage and will have access to Gmail only. Accounts that have been inactive for 12 months or longer will be deleted.  

The UTmail team has developed recommendations and documentation (Including this online guide) to assist you with taking any necessary actions. The UTmail team will also be communicating with UTmail account holders throughout the 2022 calendar year regarding these changes. For further information and background on this project, please visit: https://it.utexas.edu/projects/utmail_storage_reduction

The storage guidelines for UTmail users is outlined below.

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What Actions Do I Need to Take?

For all users: 

• You must check your storage usage to ensure that you are below the limit for your user type (Listed below).
  
• A summary of the changes that may affect your account are also listed in the table below this section. 

For current faculty, staff, and students:

• Current faculty, staff, and students accounts will be limited to 5 GB of Google Workspace storage, including email and stored files. If you have more than 5 GB stored in Google, you will be required to migrate your email and/or files to a new location to bring you under the 5 GB limit. 

For former students and retirees:

• Alumni and Retiree accounts will be limited to 1 GB of email. Google Workspace applications other than Gmail, including Drive, will no longer be available. You must reduce your Gmail storage below 1 GB and move files stored in Drive or other Google Workspace applications to a new location.
  
  
• If you do not log in to your UTmail account for 365 days, it will be archived, then deleted after 120 days. Forwarding and other activities do not count as a logging in. For this purpose, only signing in to your UTmail account via a web browser counts.

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Do I Have Any Legal Obligations for Managing Data in My UTmail Account?

For Faculty, Staff, and Retirees:   

• Yes. University faculty and staff must manage emails and files in their UTmail business accounts as official university records. Retirees should ensure that they do not have any university records in their accounts.   
  
  
• For further guidance, please review the information below in As an Employee, What are my Obligations When Reducing Files and Email in my UTmail Business Account? 
  
  

For Students, Former Students, and Alumni: 

• No. University retention rules do not apply to student, former student, or alumnus UTmail accounts. Contents of those accounts may be deleted or managed at the discretion of the account owners. 

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As an Employee, What are my Obligations When Reducing Files and Emails Stored in my UTmail Business Account?

Reducing the UTmail account storage of UT staff and faculty may require deleting or managing records and email that are official university records. Please review the following information before deleting.  

The University Records Management Officer has authorized the deletion of inactive university records dated prior to Dec. 31, 2017. Records from that period pertaining to active business issues should be transferred to another university storage account such as UTBox, OneDrive, or SharePoint.   

University business records dated after Dec. 31, 2017, are not authorized for deletion. They may be transferred to another university storage account for retention, or you must submit a request for authorization to dispose or consult with Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) before deleting.  

You may dispose of all records and emails not conducting university business up to the present day, including:  

• Personal use emails, photographs, and other personal files  
• Department social emails e.g., “cookies at the front desk” or “Join us for Ben’s retirement party”  
• Memos from other university departments  
• Unsolicited advertisements  

Please refer to RIMS' guidance regarding the reduction in size of your UTmail account for more detailed information.

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Am I Allowed to Store Official University Data in my Personal Account?  

No. All university records must be stored in approved, university-managed accounts and storage locations. Do not use your personal UTmail account (nor any other personal account) to conduct university business.    

Reach out to Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) for further guidance. 

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Checking Your UTmail Usage

You can review the storage used by your Gmail, Drive, and Photos content at https://drive.google.com/settings/storage:

Example:

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Export Files from Gmail

You may download data stored in your UTmail account (Including Gmail) via Google Takeout. 

Instructions for using Google Takeout are available at: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190

If you wish to import your UTmail emails into a personal Gmail account, instructions for doing so are available at: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/21289

Email Forwarding Rules:

• The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost require that all UT business be conducted with a UT Business account.
• Forwarding of UTmail Business accounts outside of business environments is prohibited.
• For more information on Email Forwarding Rules, please see the additional guidelines posted here. 

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Export Files from Google Drive

You may download data stored in your UTmail account (Including Drive) via Google Takeout.

Instructions for using Google Takeout are available at: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190

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Exporting Gmail Contacts

If you wish to export your Gmail contacts to re-import them elsewhere , you can view instructions for doing so at: https://support.google.com/contacts/answer/7199294

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What Alternative Services to Use

For Students, Faculty, and Staff:

• If you are current staff, faculty, or a student, the services listed below exist that you may use in place of UTmail.
  
  
• A matrix detailing the suitability of the UTmail service for various types of University data are available at: Local and Cloud Services Decision Matrix