Two Ways to Safely Delete a G Suite User

Google has a decent article on how to delete Google Apps users, but as a Google Apps admin, you know deleting the account is only half the story. Useful stuff lives on that account, and before you can delete the account, you’ve got to make sure that stuff gets to a place that isn’t, y’know, getting deleted. Here’s two ways to do that safely:

Archive

If you want to export someone’s data, or otherwise don’t intend to keep it in Google Apps, use Snapshot for Google Apps to download an archive of all the user’s data. We built Snapshot as an effortless export and archival tool, like a bite-size version of Backupify for Google Apps.

Most of Snapshot’s use comes from folks archiving a user’s data after the user leaves their organization, but before deleting the account. By closing the account, you save on monthly Google Apps charges; by using Snapshot, you keep your data safe.

Migrate

If you want to keep a user’s data handy in addition to safe, use Migrator for Google Apps to painlessly move the user’s data to another user. It moves all of your Google Apps data, and preserves metadata like tags and sharing lists.

Say an analyst quits your team, and another teammate is taking over for them. Migrator would copy all the data from the analyst’s account to the teammate’s, instantly making everything accessible. After the migration, you can safely delete the Google Apps user, and save on monthly charges.

Lastly, Look Out for Landmines

Back when the Earth was young, in 2012, my buddy Jay wrote 11 Steps to take Before You Delete a User from a Google Apps Domain. If you’re in the process of removing a user from your domain, you want to read this article. Deleting users involves plenty of non-obvious dangers, from emails hitting a dead address to losing access to services associated with the deleted user. Jay’s wisdom keeps you safe from all that nonsense.

In closing, my name is Max Thayer, and I’m here to obliterate tedium. If you’ve got an IT pain what needs fixin’ or an itch in the cloud what needs scratchin’, leave a comment with your tale, and I’ll get right on it.