Welcome to Trapped By Google
This is the homepage for the Trapped By Google project. Our goal is to promote knowledge about how using Google Workspace or being a Google Workspace user limits you from the Google ecosystem. Not to be confused with restrictions that can be applied by adminstrators, the goal of this project is to document restrictions and limitations for anyone using a Google workspace account, including administrators.
This is different than services discontinued by Google, which is another important point of reference for those of us in the Google ecosystem. We also don’t list things here like Google’s Takeout, which may or may not export the data related to the list below (we’ll try to note as much when we can).
History
Back in 2007, this is what google.com/a/org looked like:
As you can see it, mentions:
Whether you’re a family, a club with chapters nationwide, or an international association, Google Apps will let your members communicate and work together online, all for free.
The pages that linked to that listed the different target audiences for the product, and “Families” is one of the headline icons/links. We’ve heard for a long time that “this was never intended for families” but this evidence proves otherwise, despite whether the product was “Apps for Your Domain,” “Apps,” or “Workspace.”
Our request
Provide a migration path! While Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is a business product with administrative controls, and Google Home is a consumer-focused product, this was not always the case, as shown above. Google won’t give us a migration path at all.
Alow admins to opt-in We’re paying users! We’ve heard a number of times that this is for our own good (security, privacy, etc), but when it’s designed to be confusing, it’s clear Google can bypass these restrictions if it suits them. Why not let Google Workspace admins control their own risk and allow them to enable features that regular GMail users can use?
The list
Account Security
- Recovery contacts are limited for Workspace users
Google One
- Cannot use at all with Workspace
Google Pay
- Workspace users can use credit cards and pay with Android devices, but cannot send money or use any extended Google Pay features
Maps
- Google Workspace accounts generally cannot be Local Guides, and there are limitations when reviews are written. Even if you’ve written thousands of reviews, they cannot be migrated to a GMail account.
Nest
- Only one member in a Home
- Cannot migrate to Google from Nest account (source)
Fitbit
- Cannot migrate data to Gmail or use Workspace account (source)
- Cannot use some Pixel Watch features with Workspace (including Fitbit)
Play Store
- Cannot review apps at all
Home
- Cannot be a member or head of a family group (No family sharing)
- Reduced feature set (Calendar, Keep, etc integrations)
- Broadcast functionality is broken entirely, reports admin can fix (but not true)
Opinion rewards
- Disabled entirely (source)
YouTube
- Cannot migrate purchases from a workspace to a Gmail account.
Last updated: October 29, 2025