Changes to Google Drive integration

Last updated 15 August 2018: added a link to the FAQ and information on auto-saving

This document outlines the key information for MindMup users and organisational administrators related to upcoming changes in the Google Drive integration.

• Key information you need to know
• Key actions you may need to take
• Impacts on your work, security and privacy
• The new MindMup Cloud collaboration platform
• More information

Key information you need to know

Google announced that they will stop providing the Realtime API capabilities for Google Drive files to third party applications (such as MindMup). Until July 2018, MindMup primarily used that feature for storing maps to Google Drive, to provide collaborative map editing. The change will take effect from December 11th 2018, according to their announcement. As of 17 July 2018, Google has not yet announced any suitable replacement for that API that keeps data on Google Drive.

This most likely means that starting from December 2018, MindMup users will have to choose between keeping their maps on Google Drive and collaborative editing.

MindMup provides a replacement service with safe concurrent editing and collaboration on our MindMup Cloud storage. This service, however, processes and stores data outside of Google Drive.

• Starting from 1 March 2018, this service is available to all existing and new Gold users at no additional cost. This service is not available to free users.
• Starting from 23 May 2018, you can transfer maps from Google Drive to MindMup Cloud storage easily, so you can keep collaborating on existing maps. Check out the Import From Google Drive page for more information.
• Starting from 17 July 2018, you can seamlessly convert collaborative maps into non-collaborative maps on Google Drive, so you can keep using your existing data on Google Drive after the Realtime API is turned off.
• Starting from September 2018, newly created maps will no longer support collaboration on MindMup, but you will be able to edit old collaborative maps.
• Starting from November 2018, existing collaborative maps will become read-only, and you will have to convert them into plain files for editing.

For organisations whose compliance or regulatory requirements prevent moving data out of the Google Apps ecosystem, administrators can block users from using the MindMup Cloud storage, and ensure that all data stays on Google Drive. Instructions on how to opt-out are provided in the Configuring organisational access tutorial.

As the new service significantly increases our operational costs, we will most likely increase the Gold subscription price for new users in the future, and stop offering organisational accounts with an unlimited number of users. Existing Gold subscribers will not be affected for at least five years.

We’re committed to supporting Google Drive access from MindMup, to the extent provided by Google’s APIs. Unless a replacement API is offered by Google, collaborative editing for maps saved to Google Drive will be turned off starting from November 2018. We will update this page with additional information in the future if a replacement collaboration service for Google Drive becomes available.

An important change as a result of the new service is that MindMup now needs to store more information about users when they sign in via third parties, for auditing purposes. There is no additional data requested from users, and no additional information collected beyond what users and administrators already approved, but we were previously not storing third-party user meta-data on our services. We have updated the Privacy Policy accordingly.

Key actions you may need to take

For organisational administrators:

• if you want to block users from accidentally or unintentionally transferring any content out of the Google Apps/GSuite ecosystem, you will need to opt-out of the MindMup Cloud storage. The instructions are in the Configuring organisational access tutorial.
• We would appreciate your help in communicating these upcoming changes to your users. For privacy reasons, we have not previously stored information on individuals accessing MindMup via Google Drive with organisational accounts, so we’re unable to notify your users directly. Please send your users the link to the following document: Frequently Asked Questions about Google Realtime Changes
• To ensure a smooth transition, please help us understand your constraints by filling in this form. We are still considering various methods of securing and protecting map contents during the transitional period, so your input will be very valuable to ensure that your colleagues and users have uninterrupted access to their mind maps.

For personal users:

• No immediate action is required.
• If you are already using MindMup Cloud to store your maps, no action will be required later.
• If you are currently using Google Drive to store your maps, by November 2018 you will need to decide if concurrent editing is more important for you than keeping the files on Google Drive.
• To the best of our knowledge, collaborative maps left on Google Drive after December 2018 will still be accessible but read-only. This depends on the level of access Google provides to existing Realtime data, although, and we have no control over that. If you want to keep your mind maps on Google Drive, we suggest converting them into non-collaborative documents well before the deadline just in case.
• You can also, at any time, back up your maps to a local disk or some other storage easily, by using File > Download As > MindMup from the application menu at any time.
• If you would like to start using MindMup Cloud collaboration now, instead of Google Drive, just point your browser to https://app.mindmup.com instead of https://drive.mindmup.com.
• To move files from Google Drive to MindMup Cloud, use the Import from Google Drive page.

Impacts on your work, security and privacy

If you are currently storing free maps to MindMup Cloud storage:

There is no impact on your work with this change

If you are currently a Gold user storing maps to MindMup Cloud storage:

The biggest change you will notice is that maps already became safer to use for collaborative editing, and it is now faster to work with resources (images/attachments) in your maps. There is no negative impact on security or privacy of your maps.

If you are currently storing maps to Google Drive, and want to keep saving maps to Google Drive:

There is no immediate impact on security or privacy of your maps. Unless Google offers a suitable replacement API, starting from December 2018, the maps will no longer be safe for collaborative concurrent editing. You will, however, be able to use normal Google Drive file management mechanisms to manage versions and share maps. MindMup maps will start working similar to plain files in Google Drive.

If you are currently storing maps to Google Drive, but wish to keep collaborative group-work:

You will need to transfer the content outside the Google Drive ecosystem to MindMup Cloud storage before December 2018. You can do so now from the Import from Google Drive page. We rent storage from Amazon Web Services (S3), so your data will physically reside in Amazon data centres. Where previously user data was sent directly from your browsers to Google Drive APIs, the data will now instead sent from a browser directly to Amazon’s S3 storage, and processed using AWS Lambda. Note that unlike Google Drive collaboration, which we were able to offer to everyone, this service will only be offered to Gold users.

For more information, check out the answers to frequently asked questions about the change

The new MindMup Cloud collaboration platform

The new MindMup Cloud collaboration platform enables safe, secure and frictionless collaboration. The initial version of this service is already available to all Gold users.

If you are already using MindMup Cloud storage as a Gold user, you will notice that the Save button is no longer visible in the top-right corner when editing maps. Your maps are now automatically saved on every change, and multiple users can edit the same map safely at the same time. We have also significantly improved the performance of saving maps with large assets, such as images and attachments.

Organisational users can already create private maps, or maps shared with their entire organisation (“team maps”). Previously, MindMup Gold storage was not suitable for organisational accounts, as all maps in a single (organisational) account were by default available to all users in that organisation.

Gold users (organisational and personal) can share maps privately and invite other Gold users to collaborate on maps. You can also now see the recent history of your map changes, similarly to how Google Drive history works, and restore maps to old revisions.

In the near future, we plan to significantly improve file management capabilities of MindMup Gold storage, and offer users ways to easily search, group and categorise their maps, to manage their maps easily.

If you are currently storing maps on Google Drive, and want to try out the new platform, just point your browser to https://app.mindmup.com instead of https://drive.mindmup.com when starting to edit maps. You can still sign in using your Google account.

For more information, see Saving to MindMup Cloud

More information

• Answers to frequently asked questions about the change
• Google Drive Realtime API deprecation announcement
• Amazon’s S3 Storage product information - this is where MindMup Cloud storage keeps user data
• MindMup Privacy Policy

If you require any further information, or want to discuss migration options or security requirements, please contact us.