As the administrator of a personal domain on Google Workspace, I’m facing a frustrating limitation with Gemini.
The option to delete individual conversations simply does not exist, a basic functionality that the consumer version already has. This prevents me from managing my own privacy and keeping my chat history organized.
This isn’t a license issue; it’s a matter of user control and autonomy. Google should give administrators the option to allow users to manage their own data, regardless of corporate retention policies.
It’s really bizarre. One of the many moments where I feel google isn’t really aware how many are using workspace for self-employment, SMBs, freelancing etc. Those corporate enterprise safety measures are just a big annoyance for me. I wish there was a different workspace offering for solo entrepreneurs without all this compliance and security crap.
Especially for self-employed small businesses. My chat history is a jumbled mess. I am planning to rename all dated, no-longer-useful chats beginning with the letter Z so I can ignore them. I hope that works. I have no way of organizing besides using a pin and then my own dewey decimal system of sorts to keep track. I’m surprised there is no way to delete easily.
As a workaround it is possible to delete the whole gemini history for one user (e.g. upon request) using access or configuration groups to disable gemini history for one user, wait about 24 horus and then re-enable it.
I know that is not a solution, but sadly the only aproximation i found to offer to my users.
In your case (just one user) is super simple but remember it will delete ALL the gemini history.
Go to the admin pannel >> Generative AI >> Gemini app >> Gemini conversation history >> Uncheck to turn Gemini history off
Wait about 24 hours (maybe 48) and the history will disapear.
Once is gone just enable it again.
I’ll try the same, and comment back to confirm if it works for me in 48 hours, so that the rest of the community can also benefit from this workaround.
Admins should be able to determine if their end users have the ability to delete chats or not.
On the other hand, it seems that NotebookLM does allow end users to delete their notebooks from their interface, so it doesn’t makes much sense that Gemini App (at least on the frontend) doesn’t allows its users to clean their interface / delete chats as they see fit.
The lack of this feature, plus better organization tools (such as folders / projects) within Gemini App, is pushing users away from the platform.
Many users just want to have a good and reliable AI tool. So, if a user has access to ChatGPT with the ability to delete chats and user folders/projects, there is a good chance that they prefer that interface over Gemini (even if Gemini is pushing with better models, etc.).
As a team of 1 in my Workspace domain, the admin is me and I’m managing 1 user, me. So yes, I really would like to have the freedom to choose if me can delete chats from the Gemini apps. I understand it’s good practice in enterprise that execs / admins can observe / review any chat, looking for sensitive or confidential data leak for example, and I don’t forget that in the enterprise realm, no data belongs to the user / employee, it’s the company property. BUT, it still should be an option for the admin to allow users to delete chats.
Also, +1 for folders / projects to organise chats.
the Gemini web app at gemini.google.com does not have as many features as the personal plan. It lacks the ability delete chats. Lacks the ability to customize / personalize. The only solution is to downgrade to basic tier and pay for Grok Business. Grok business supports “Templates” like Gems. Supports archiving chats. Supports deleting chats. Supports deleting chats.
I cancelled my pro account after my chat history became one big mess. Very basic 2 functions are needed: Enabling admins to give users chat deletion possibility and grouping chats (Like OpenAI projects). 2 hour of developer’s time while amount of min. 5 year senior developer’s salary lost because lacking those functions
The last time I used this method was Oct. 16, and the client lost all conversations with Gemini, even the ones with Bard.
I asked him a few minutes ago, and the history is working fine since that date, and old data has not reappeared. We have Google Workspace Business Standard with Gemini PRO.
Has anyone else tried this method without success?
Same problem here. I understand if there are legal reasons that they require you to maintain the actual chat history. But at least they could let you hide or archive the chats in your sidebar that you do not want to see anymore and which are cluttering your workspace.
That way the actual chat information is preserved under the organization data retention policy. But the user can also clear out their chat history for organization and efficiency.
Me too. I am a small business admin (Workspace Business Standard) and these restrictions are a dealbreaker for us.
Here’s some context for the Product Team:
I have been a heavy ChatGPT user since early 2023. I recently started migrating to Gemini because the model quality has improved significantly—in many ways, I now prefer it to GPT-5.1. However, I am hitting two major friction points that are forcing me back to ChatGPT:
1. Lack of Data Control (Deletion):
I cannot delete individual ‘clutter’ chats or one-off searches. Being forced to keep a messy history (or nuke the entire history via retention policy) is unacceptable for a small team that needs a tidy workspace.
2. Lack of Global Custom Instructions / Memory:
While I see that ‘Gems’ can hold some instructions, they are isolated bots. In ChatGPT, I have global custom instructions so the AI knows my context (my business details, my preferred format) instantly in every chat. With Gemini Workspace, I have to re-explain my context constantly. This friction makes the tool significantly less ‘profitable’ for me to use compared to the competition.
The Bottom Line:
I want to use Gemini as my daily driver, but the lack of basic user-level control and persistent memory puts it behind the competition for professional workflows. Please enable these ‘Consumer’ features for Business Standard admins.
This is the most frustrating thing about using Gemini. I’m flabbergasted by not being able to delete chats. The level of chaos that my chat history is looking like is making me NOT use it. I don’t want to go one by one re-naming things. It’s the biggest time suck.
Please, please, allow for easy deletion of individual chats at minimum via admin to be able to turn on or off. Everyone’s concerns and requests in this feature request is exactly why I’m here!
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that YOU CAN’T. That’s bonkers.
