This document outlines key information for Mindmup users and organizational administrators about changes to Google Drive integration and how they affect collaboration, storage, security, and privacy.
Key information you need to know
Google announced it would stop providing Realtime API capabilities for Google Drive files used by third‑party applications such as Mindmup. Until mid‑2018, Mindmup relied on this API to store maps in Google Drive and support collaborative editing.
Google confirmed the change would take effect on December 11, 2018, and as of July 2018, no suitable replacement API had been announced that would allow collaborative editing while keeping data stored in Google Drive.
As a result, Mindmup users needed to choose between:
- Keeping maps stored in Google Drive without collaborative editing, or
- Moving maps to Mindmup storage to continue real‑time collaboration.
Mindmup provides a replacement collaboration service with safe concurrent editing using Mindmup storage. This service supports collaboration but processes and stores data outside Google Drive.
From March 1, 2018, this service became available to all new and existing Organization subscribers at no additional cost. It is not available on the Starter plan.
From May 23, 2018, users could transfer maps from Google Drive to Mindmup storage using Import › From Google Drive, allowing continued collaboration on existing maps.
From July 17, 2018, collaborative maps stored in Google Drive could be converted into non‑collaborative maps, allowing continued access after the Realtime API shutdown.
From September 2018, newly created maps stored in Google Drive no longer supported collaboration, though existing collaborative maps could still be edited.
From November 2018, existing collaborative maps stored in Google Drive became read‑only and needed to be converted to plain files to continue editing.
For organizations with compliance or regulatory requirements that prevent moving data outside Google Workspace, administrators could block access to Mindmup storage to ensure all data remained in Google Drive. Instructions were provided in the Configuring Organizational Access guide.
Mindmup remains committed to supporting Google Drive access within the limits of Google’s APIs. Without a replacement collaboration API from Google, collaborative editing for maps stored in Google Drive is not supported.
As part of these changes, Mindmup began storing additional sign‑in metadata for auditing purposes when users authenticate via third‑party providers. No new data is requested, and no additional personal information is collected beyond what users and administrators already approve. The Privacy Policy was updated accordingly.
Key actions you may need to take
For organizational administrators
- To prevent users from transferring content outside Google Workspace, opt out of Mindmup storage using the Configuring Organizational Access guide.
- Communicate these changes to users. For privacy reasons, Mindmup cannot directly notify individual users signed in via organizational Google accounts.
- Share the document Frequently Asked Questions on Google Realtime API changes with your users.
For personal users
No immediate action is required.
If you already store maps in Mindmup storage, no further action is needed.
If you store maps in Google Drive, decide whether collaboration is more important than keeping files in Google Drive.
Collaborative maps left in Google Drive after December 2018 may remain accessible but read‑only, depending on Google’s continued access to existing Realtime data.
To keep maps in Google Drive, convert them to non‑collaborative documents well before the deadline.
You can back up maps at any time using File › Download As › Mindmup.
To use Mindmup collaboration instead of Google Drive, open app.mindmup.com rather than drive.mindmup.com.
To move maps from Google Drive, use Import › From Google Drive.
Impacts on your work, security, and privacy
Maps stored in Mindmup storage (Starter)
There is no impact. Starter maps remain private, do not expire, and are limited to five editable maps.
Maps stored in Mindmup storage (Organization)
Collaboration is safer and more reliable, and working with large assets such as images and attachments is faster. There is no negative impact on security or privacy.
Maps stored in Google Drive without collaboration
There is no immediate security or privacy impact. Without a replacement API from Google, collaborative concurrent editing is not supported. Maps behave like standard files in Google Drive, using Google’s versioning and sharing controls.
Maps moved to Mindmup storage for collaboration
To maintain collaborative editing, maps must be transferred out of Google Drive to Mindmup storage. Data is stored in Amazon S3 and processed using AWS Lambda. Unlike Google Drive collaboration, this service is available only to paid subscribers.
For more details, see Frequently Asked Questions on Google Realtime API changes.
The Mindmup collaboration platform
Mindmup storage enables secure, real‑time collaboration with automatic saving on every change. The Save button is no longer required, and multiple users can edit the same map safely at the same time.
Performance has been significantly improved when saving maps with large assets such as images and attachments.
Organization users can create private maps or maps shared across their organization. Paid users can also invite others to collaborate privately and view map revision history, restoring previous versions when needed.
If you previously worked only with Google Drive maps, you can try Mindmup storage by opening app.mindmup.com and signing in with your Google account.
For more details, see Saving to Mindmup.
More information
Frequently asked questions about the change
Google Drive Realtime API deprecation announcement
Amazon's S3 storage information
If you need additional details or want to discuss migration or security requirements, contact us at contact@mindmup.com.