Google Vault Support

Seamlessly redact exports from Google Vault, including Gmail and Google Chat data.

Written By Harry Elliott

Last updated 4 days ago

Overview

RedactBox officially supports files exported from Google Vault, Google Workspace's eDiscovery and compliance tool. Whether you're handling a Subject Access Request, internal investigation, or regulatory disclosure, you can export directly from Google Vault and upload into RedactBox for review and redaction.

Supported Export Formats

Google Vault allows you to export data in two formats. RedactBox supports both:

Format

Description

MBOX

The standard mailbox format used by Google Vault for Gmail exports. Each export produces one or more .mbox files containing full email threads, headers, and attachments.

PST

Microsoft Outlook's personal storage format. Google Vault can export in PST for compatibility with Outlook-based workflows. RedactBox processes PST files with full support for nested folders, attachments, and metadata.

Supported Google Vault Data Types

Data Type

Supported

Notes

Gmail

Yes

Full support for email threads, attachments, embedded images, and metadata

Google Chat

Yes

Messages exported from Google Chat via Vault are fully supported

Groups

Yes

Google Groups messages exported via Vault follow the same Gmail format

Drive

No

Google Drive file exports are not currently supported

Voice

No

Google Voice exports are not currently supported

How to Export from Google Vault

  1. Open Google Vault at vault.google.com

  2. Create or open a Matter

  3. Run a Search for the relevant user, date range, or terms

  4. Click Export and choose your preferred format (MBOX or PST)

  5. Once the export completes, download the ZIP file from Vault

  6. Upload the exported files directly into your RedactBox project

Tip: For large exports, Google Vault may split the data into multiple files. You can upload all of them into a single RedactBox project.

What Gets Imported

When you upload a Google Vault export, RedactBox extracts and displays:

  • Email metadata — sender, recipients, date, subject line

  • Email body — full HTML and plain text content

  • Attachment visibility — RedactBox detects attachments and displays their names and count, so you can identify what's attached to each item. Attachments are not imported directly into the redaction workflow — they need to be managed separately. If you need to redact an attachment, you can convert it to PDF and upload it as a standalone document.

  • Chat messages — individual messages with sender and timestamp

  • Thread structure — conversations are preserved in their original groupings

Best Practices

  • Export in MBOX format — this is Google Vault's native format and provides the most reliable results

  • Use PST when required — if your workflow requires Outlook compatibility, PST exports work equally well

  • Check your export scope — verify your Vault search covers the correct users, date range, and data types before exporting

  • Upload all files — if Vault splits your export into multiple files, upload them all to ensure complete coverage