Google Chat Terms of Service

Google Chat is available to the UC Berkeley community through your Google Workspace account. Chat is a communications platform that lets UC Berkeley faculty, staff, and students chat with individuals, send group messages and engage in team-based collaboration with rooms across UC Berkeley. Chat integrates with Gmail, Meet, Google Calendar, and Drive. 

What is Google Chat?

Google Chat Usage Eligibility

UC Berkeley faculty, emeriti, staff, students, concurrent enrollment students, visiting scholars, postdocs, departmental Special Purpose Accounts (SPA), and affiliates who have active CalNet IDs. Alumni who have claimed their @berkeley.edu account offered through @Cal Alumni Network are also eligible. Please review account eligibility for more details 

Examples of Appropriate Conduct

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are committed to creating a community that fosters equity of experience and opportunity, and ensures that students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds feel safe, welcome and included. You are encouraged to review the campus’ Guiding Values and Principles, and our Principles of Community before using this communication platform.

• Avoid content that defames or threatens others
• Avoid making statements that are bigoted, hateful, or racially offensive
• Avoid discussing illegal activities with the intent to commit them
• Avoid material that contains vulgar or obscene language or images
• Avoid advertising or any form of commercial solicitation

Data Security & Use Rules

Chat is governed by UC Electronic Communications Policy, UC Berkeley’s Google Workspace Terms of Service, Campus Online Activities Policy, and Google Chat and Google Hangouts Acceptable Use Policy.

• Chat is approved for use with Institutional Information up to Protection Level 3 (P3).
• Approved for FERPA data 
• Data encrypted in transit and at rest

Accessibility

You can use Google Chat with a screen reader or keyboard shortcuts. For example, you can send a direct message, create or join rooms, or reply to a message or conversation. Google Chat with Accessibility Features

Support coverage 

ITCS support for Google Chat is restricted to service outages and access issues. Please refer to the Google Workspace Status Dashboard for any service disruptions.

Additional Resources

Learn how to send direct messages, edit conversations, and join or leave a room in Google’s article Get Started with Chat. You’ll learn how to:

• Start a video meeting
• Add files to conversations
• Use Google search in Chat