UW-Madison Google Workspace - Hiding a UW-Madison Google Workspace account

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How can other UW-Madison Google Workspace users find me?

• If you have a UW-Madison Google Workspace account, other UW-Madison Google Workspace users will be able to easily share content with you by searching for your name.
  

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Why hide your account?

• You have one account with multiple addresses (most common situation)
  
  
• UW-Madison Google Workspace is configured to let others search for any of your email addresses associated with your account.  This makes it easier for collaborators to find you by your recognizable, published email address.  It doesn't matter which address they pick from the search results; they all resolve to your one account.
  
  
• Unfortunately, there is no way to disable this behavior of showing all aliases for an account. 
  
  
• Pro Tip: try setting a profile picture to allow others to easily understand that they found your account.
  

• You have multiple accounts

  • If you have multiple accounts -- for example,  bbadger@wisc.edu and bucky.badger@dept.wisc.edu -- other UW-Madison Google Workspace users who search for you by name may find more than one result.

  • If you would prefer that other UW-Madison Google Workspace users only saw one account displayed in the search results, you can request that your other account(s) be hidden from search results.

• You are no longer using your account

  • If you are no longer using your UW-Madison Google Workspace account, you can discourage other UW-Madison Google Workspace users from sharing content with you by hiding your account from search results. Keep in mind that people will still be able to share content with your account by typing your full email address.

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How to hide your account

If you would like to be hidden in the Global Address List (GAL), follow the steps below:

• Go to https://email.wisc.edu/admin and log in with your NetID credentials.
• Click on My Account > Google Workspace > Contact Sharing.
• Click on Switch GAL Status.
• Done.

Please note, your changes may take 10-15 minutes before it goes into affect and you are visible in the GAL.

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How to unhide your account

If you would like to be visible in the Global Address List (GAL) so you can be added to Google Hangouts Meet or Google Hangouts Chat, follow the steps below:

• Go to https://email.wisc.edu/admin and log in with your NetID credentials.
• Click on My Account > Google Workspace > Contact Sharing.
• Click on Switch GAL Status.
• Done.

Please note, your changes may take 10-15 minutes before it goes into affect and you are visible in the GAL.

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See Also:

• UW-Madison Google Workspace - Account Activation for FERPA students