SCOPE AND LIMITS OF ITS CONTROL OVER SMITH MAIL
The goal of this document is to explain the scope and limits of the control ITS has over Smith Mail accounts. In Smith Mail, message storage, delivery, retrieval, and restoration is controlled by Google.
ITS has far less control over mail settings, events, and outcomes than was possible in GroupWise. As administrators of Smith’s Google Apps email domain, ITS staff can:
- Create new Smith Mail accounts
- Set and reset passwords
- Set some system-wide default mail settings
- Log in to an account with the user’s permission and review an individual’s email settings
- Search for missing messages in your account
- Restore messages you mistakenly deleted that are no longer in the Trash
- Check the delivery status of a message
What does this mean for you?
We recommend that you never delete any message you may possibly want at any time in the future. If you delete a message then empty your Trash, or leave it in the Trash for 30 days, be aware that it is gone for good. ITS can't retrieve it and Google won't retrieve it unless required by a legal authority.
If you know certain messages were sent to you but they never appeared in your Inbox, check to see if one of your pre-set filters could have caused a certain action to be performed on those messages
If you are sure certain messages are in your account, but you can’t find them using your first search strategy, try searching another way. For example, use different keywords in your search, or include a date range or sender address.
For further information about this topic
We recommend watching this interactive journey of an email with videos and images that explain Google's security and data processing infrastructure:
http://www.google.com/green/storyofsend/desktop/
If you have any questions, please call the User Support Center at x4487 or send email to 4its@smith.edu.
