Summary:
In the Google Admin Console (under Apps > Google Workspace > Google Chat > Chat and space restrictions), the setting to restrict creation is currently bundled into a single “all-or-nothing” control: “Restrict creation of messages, group messages, and spaces”.
There is currently no way to allow users to initiate 1:1 Direct Messages (DMs) while simultaneously prohibiting them from creating new Spaces.
Use Case / Business Impact:
In many organizational environments (such as schools, universities, or enterprises with temporary contractors and specific user roles):
- Administrators WANT users (e.g., students or frontline workers) to be able to reach out directly to teachers, managers, or colleagues via 1:1 DMs.
- However, administrators DO NOT want these users to create unsupervised Spaces, which often leads to chat sprawl, unmonitored group channels, and governance issues.
Current Limitation:
The current implementation forces admins into an unwanted trade-off: either block all user-initiated communication entirely, or allow unchecked Space creation.
Proposed Solution:
Please decouple this setting and provide granular controls in the Admin Console:
- Allow/Disallow initiating 1:1 Direct Messages
- Allow/Disallow creating Group Chats
- Allow/Disallow creating Spaces
This added granularity would drastically improve Workspace governance and chat management for IT administrators worldwide.