Groups
Department groups mirror Google Workspace and stay locked to it. Custom groups are yours to build. Both show up as filters in the app.
Open Contacts → Groups. There are two kinds.
Department groups
Created automatically from the departments in your Google Workspace and kept in step with them on every sync. You cannot edit their members here; change the department in Google Admin and the group follows. This keeps one source of truth.
Custom groups
Groups you build yourself, for anything Google doesn’t know about: a project team, the people on call this week, everyone in one building. Create a group, name it, and pick its members. Custom groups live only in Workspace Sync and never touch Google Workspace.
What groups do
- In the app, a group is a filter at the top of the contact list. Pick a group and only its members show.
- A person can save a whole group to their phone in one tap, with undo.
- A group is where Walkie-Talkie happens, if you turn it on for that group. See Turn on Walkie-Talkie.
Only people with App access count as group members for the app. A person who is listed in the directory but has no access appears in the list, but cannot use the group’s Walkie-Talkie.
Group mode
On the Field Configuration page, Group mode decides how the app’s filter is organised:
- Department: the filter shows your department and custom groups. The default.
- Organization: the filter shows the whole company as one list. Good for small companies where departments would be groups of two.
Changing group mode takes effect in the app straight away.