39 Directory minimization for targeted staff

Caveats

• Hiding a user from the directory does not hide them from Vault, audit logs or group membership listings¹
• Propagation takes up to 24 hours, and Gmail autocomplete caches on the client for longer²
• Custom directories may not be available on every edition³

Setup steps

1. Directory › Directory settings › Sharing settings › Contact sharing

   Decide what profile data is published to the Directory at all. For a targeted-staff threat model, stop sharing domain/alias addresses and extended profile fields.

   Contact sharing

   ON only for primary address

   alias + domain addresses

   not shared

   Turn Directory on or off ↗

2. open ↗

   

   https://admin.google.com/ac/managedsettings/986128716205 · captured 2026-07-15

   Directory › Directory settings › Visibility settings ↗

   Restrict who is discoverable. 'Users in a custom directory' scopes visibility to a group rather than the whole tenant.

   Directory visibility

   Users in a custom directory (or No users for the highest-risk OU)

   Control who users can find in the Directory ↗ Customize a directory for a team or group ↗

3. open ↗

   

   https://admin.google.com/ac/users · captured 2026-07-15

   Directory › Users ↗

   Signed in as a super administrator, turn off Directory sharing on each named high-risk individual's user record so they do not autocomplete for other tenant members.

   Directory sharing

   Off (hidden from the Directory)

   Hide a user from the Directory ↗

Ongoing maintenance

• requires a human On role changes: keep the protected-person set current.

How to verify

1. As an ordinary test user, search the directory for a protected person — the entry should be hidden or reduced. Tests the real exposure with the least possible access.