What happened?

Brand Accounts allow users to use certain Google services with a separate identity (e.g., a brand identity) that is not publicly linked to their regular Google Account identity. Brand Accounts are not currently supported for G Suite for Education primary/secondary (K-12) school domains.  On July 10, 2019, Google took the following actions on accounts not already granted an extension by their school’s G Suite admin:

• Google suspended Brand Accounts whose primary owner is a G Suite for Education primary/secondary (K-12) school user.
• Google removed G Suite for Education primary/secondary (K-12) school users as members from any Brand Accounts they belonged to.

Is my Brand Account affected?

Your Brand Account may be affected if one or more of the items below apply to you:

• You were directed to this page when accessing YouTube, or otherwise trying to switch to your Brand Account. 
• Google sent you an email about this topic on or around May 9, 2019, and/or in late July 2019. (Note that you may also receive a separate email from YouTube related to this same suspension).
• You see a list of Brand Accounts you are an owner or member of here, under a “Your Brand Accounts” heading while logged in with your G Suite for Education account.

Can my Brand Account be unsuspended?

If you are (a)over the age of 18 and (b) not a primary or secondary (K-12) school student, you may contact your school’s G Suite administrator to request an extension to unsuspend Brand Accounts you are the primary owner of  with your K-12 school account via this form, which will remain open until November 1, 2019. Once processed, this will cause your Brand Account to become unsuspended. Note that processing times will vary, but may take up to several weeks. Once unsuspended, you may follow the steps outlined in the section below to preserve your data. Suspended Brand Accounts whose owners are not submitted for an extension will be deleted after November 15, 2019. Note that even Brand Accounts that are submitted for an extension are still subject to deletion after July 15, 2020 (if the primary owner of the Brand Account is a G Suite for Education primary or secondary (K-12) school user as of July 15, 2020).

Will my Brand Account be deleted?

• Suspended accounts that are not submitted for an extension by their school’s G Suite admin by November 1, 2019 will be deleted after November 15, 2019.  
• Even Brand Accounts that are submitted for an extension are still subject to deletion after July 15, 2020. G Suite for Education primary/secondary (K-12) school users will also be removed as a member from any remaining Brand Accounts they belong to after July 15, 2020.
• Note: Deletion of your Brand account will not impact your ability to use G Suite or other Google products using your primary G Suite for Education account.

How will my Brand Account be impacted while suspended?

• While your Brand Account is suspended, use of your Brand Account will be blocked on YouTube, Google My Business, and Photos. You will still be able to access Google Services (i.e. Gmail, Drive, Classroom) with your primary G Suite for Education account, provided those services are enabled by your school’s admin. To access YouTube, you may need to switch to your primary account from your suspended Brand Account. You can do this via the YouTube channel switcher (signing-out and/or clearing web browser cookies may also be necessary).
• While your Brand Account is suspended, Brand Account content such as posted YouTube videos, and photos uploaded to Google Photos, may become hidden from you and others, but will not be deleted. 
• While your Brand Account is suspended, in some cases you may not be able to manage your Google My Business listings. Those listings will, however, remain visible. You can tell if your Brand Account manages a Google My Business listing if (1) the account shows here under a “Your Brand Accounts” heading, and (2) upon clicking the listed Brand Account you then see the Google My Business logo in the “Act as Brand on” section. 
• While your Brand Account is suspended, you will not be able to access the “Download your data” tool with your suspended Brand Account, nor assign any new Brand Account owners or managers.

How can I preserve my Brand Account data?

If your Brand account is active (i.e. becomes unsuspended, or never was suspended), one or more of the options below may be used to preserve some or all of your Brand Account data:

• You can download your data while logged into the Brand Account prior to July 15, 2020 to export the Brand Account’s content.
• You can transfer the primary ownership of the Brand Account to another user before July 15, 2020. The new primary owner must either be (a) a G Suite account holder that is not in a G Suite for Education primary/secondary (K-12) school domain or (b) a consumer account holder (i.e. account@gmail.com).
• Note that even Brand Accounts that have been submitted for an extension are still subject to deletion after July 15, 2020 (if the primary owner of the Brand Account is a G Suite for Education primary or secondary (K-12) school user as of July 15, 2020).