This document details the nature and categorization of Mandatory Service Announcements (MSAs), clarifying who is notified and the typical notification schedule.
What are MSAs?
To ensure the continued functionality of Google Cloud products and services, cloud enterprise customers receive MSAs through emails. These are most often contractually obligated notifications or information that Google considers critical.
Who receives an MSA?
Product teams determine MSA recipients by analyzing product usage data to identify impacted customers. This process ensures that relevant stakeholders, including individual users, enterprise users, resellers, administrators, developers, and any customer-designated Essential Contacts, are duly informed.
How do I set up or update my organization's Essential Contacts?
For comprehensive guidance on managing your organization's Essential Contacts, including setup, updates, and best practices, see Essential Contacts.
What are the different categories of MSAs?
To streamline communication, MSAs are organized into categories, as shown in the following table:
| Type of MSA | Details |
|---|---|
| Legal | Notifications provided to customers to comply with legal requirements, such as Terms of Service (ToS) and privacy policy changes. |
| Product updates | Notifications regarding changes to essential features that affect user experience within Google products. This includes:
|
| Price Changes | Communications to cover any change to the cost of a product, service, or subscription that will result in customers seeing an increase, or decrease in their bill for the same level of consumption or subscription under an active contract. This also includes pricing changes related to a product or service that is already GA, and we are transitioning from free to paid. (Excludes free preview transitions to paid GA). |
| Billing | Updates, corrections, and adjustments made to a customer's bill, including credits and overcharges, are communicated to the customer. This also includes communication for products going from free preview to paid GA. |
| Security | Communications that inform customers about security risks including system vulnerabilities. |
| Reminders and Corrections | Any reminders or correction messages sent in relation to a previous MSA communications sent. |
When can I expect an MSA?
MSAs are typically sent weekly between Monday and Thursday (excluding US holidays), except for those related to deprecations, breaking changes, pricing, and billing, which typically follows a specific schedule. All MSAs, including reminders, are paused from mid-December to the first week of January every year.
| MSA categories | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Deprecation and Breaking Changes | Sent on the 3rd Monday of the month (with exceptions): Jan 21, 2025Feb 18, 2025 Mar 17, 2025 Apr 21, 2025 May 19, 2025 Jun 16, 2025 Jul 21, 2025 Aug 18, 2025 Sep 22, 2025 |
| Price change MSAs | Sent out three times a year: Jan 27, 2025Apr 28, 2025 Jul 28, 2025 |
| Billing MSAs | Sent every second (2nd) Monday of the month (with exceptions): Feb 10, 2025Mar 10, 2025 Apr 14, 2025 May 12, 2025 Jun 9, 2025 Jul 14, 2025 Aug 11, 2025 Sep 8, 2025 |
What email subject prefixes do the MSAs have?
We use prefixes in our email subject lines to help you quickly understand the importance and nature of the message. This ensures you can prioritize and address critical information efficiently.
Here's a breakdown of the prefixes we use and their meanings:
| Subject Prefix | Meaning |
|---|---|
| [Action Required] | This prefix indicates that the customer action is necessary or required. Example: [Action Required] Reset your Google Cloud SQL SSL configuration |
| [Action Advised] | This prefix highlights that a strong recommendation for review and action is needed and encouraged. Example: [Action Advised] Review your Google Play settings before Sep 1, 2022 |
| [Legal Update] | This prefix signifies that the email contains legal updates regarding policy changes or regulatory compliance. Example: [Legal Update] Changes to Youtube end user-facing Terms of Service |
| [Legal Notice] | This prefix indicates that the email contains a formal legal notification, and prompt attention to the email is essential. Example: [Legal Notice] Changes to Youtube end user-facing Terms of Service |
| [Billing Update] | This prefix alerts you to changes or updates related to your billing, invoices, or payment information. Example: [Billing Update] Google Cloud Deploy billing to start upon General Availability |
| [Pricing Update] | This prefix indicates that there are changes to your pricing structure, or that new pricing information is available. Example: [Pricing Update] Google (product name) pricing decrease in India starting Dec 2, 2021 |
| [Product Update] | This prefix informs you about new features, improvements, or changes to products or services. Example: [Product Update] Chrome devices reaching auto update expiration on Dec 15, 2022 |
| [Correction] | This prefix indicates that this email provides a correction to a previous communication. Example: [Correction] Qual Drive API to continue to support Collab apps |
| [Reminder] | This prefix indicates a reminder regarding a previous message containing a deadline or an important update information. Example: [Reminder] Changes to Safe Browsing API Terms of Service |
What email addresses does the MSA team use?
We utilize various email addresses to segment our communications.
The table captures the list of email addresses that the MSA team can use:
| From | From ID |
|---|---|
| Google Cloud | cloudplatform-noreply@google.com |
| The Google Cloud Marketplace Team | gcp-marketplace-noreply@google.com |
| The Google Workspace Team | workspace-noreply@google.com |
| Google Maps Platform | google-maps-platform-noreply@google.com |
| Google Developers | googledevelopers-noreply@google.com |
| Google Chrome Team | chrome-noreply@google.com |
| Google AI Studio | googleaistudio-noreply@google.com |
| Firebase | firebase-noreply@google.com |
| Google Network Planner | noreply@google.com |
Can I opt out of receiving MSAs?
Customers cannot opt out of receiving MSAs because Google considers them essential notifications. These notifications are necessary to ensure the continued functionality of Google Cloud products and services.