Gemini Notebook on Work Android Phones: What Admins Should Set

If your staff use Gemini Notebook on work Android phones, two September changes matter. The Gemini Notebook mobile app can now record audio, on Android and iOS. And notebooks in Gemini are now available to Workspace organizations and switched on by default. Decide who should have it before your field crews and front desk staff find it on their own.

A third change, new data protection rules for Google Drive, affects what those phones can share. Here’s what each one means for shared and field devices, and what to set.

What changed in Gemini Notebook this month?

Google announced notebooks in Gemini for schools and organizations. A notebook is a space where one person keeps a project’s sources and conversations together. They can add up to 10 sources to a notebook. It’s available to all Google Workspace customers and Workspace Individual subscribers, except in the EEA.

Separately, Google added a batch of new Gemini Notebook features, with an extended rollout that began on September 15, 2026. The ones that touch mobile:

• An audio recorder in the mobile app, for capturing lectures or recording thoughts. Google says the notes tie in with the notebook’s sources for citation and editing.
• Real-time conversation with a notebook from the mobile app, for users 18 and over, in nearly 100 languages.

The rest, such as quizzes, flashcards, mind maps and short video overviews, is aimed mainly at students.

Is Gemini Notebook on by default for Workspace?

Yes. Notebooks in Gemini are on by default. A user gets them when both Gemini and Gemini Notebook are set to On for their group or organizational unit in the Google Admin console. The new Notebook features follow the same Gemini Notebook setting.

That’s the setting to look at first. If you’ve never touched it, your staff probably have access already.

What does an audio recorder mean on a work phone?

On a phone assigned to one person, a recorder is a notes tool. A field technician can talk through what they found at a site visit on the drive back instead of typing it up at night. That’s useful, and there’s little reason to block it.

Shared devices are different. Think of a clinic front desk tablet that three receptionists use in turn, within earshot of patients. Or a phone that gets passed between shifts at a warehouse. A recording made there ends up in a notebook tied to whichever Google account is signed in. The next person on shift may not know it exists. You may not know either.

So sort your devices into two groups before deciding anything:

1. Assigned phones. One person, one account. Treat Gemini Notebook like any other work app.
2. Shared or public-facing devices. Several people, or customers and patients nearby. Be more careful.

For the second group, you have two places to act. In the Google Admin console, you can set Gemini Notebook to Off for the group or organizational unit those shared accounts sit in. On the devices themselves, your Android MDM can keep the app off.

How to control Gemini Notebook on work Android phones

In NounDesk, apps come through managed Google Play, and each policy sets an app as Required, Available or Blocked. Put your shared devices on their own policy and block apps they don’t need there. Your assigned phones can keep a different policy where the app stays available.

For a device that should only ever do one job, kiosk mode is the cleaner answer. A restaurant order tablet or a check-in screen locked to one app, or a short list of apps, never shows Gemini or anything else. NounDesk’s kiosk wizard lets you choose single-app or multi-app mode and control access to settings. Our kiosk mode guide walks through it.

A cleaning crew’s shared job phone sits in between. It needs a few apps, like the job list, maps and a messaging app. Multi-app kiosk or a tight Blocked list both work. Pick whichever your crew lead finds less annoying. If you’re still weighing whether you need device management at all, start with why a growing small business needs Android MDM.

What are Drive’s new unified data protection rules?

The September 18 weekly recap also listed unified data protection rules for Google Drive. Admins can now set audience sharing and sensitivity-based data conditions in a single rule. Google’s stated goal is to reduce insider risk and prevent data leaving the organization, while still letting people collaborate.

For a small business, the practical use is a rule like “files marked sensitive can’t be shared outside the company”.

Drive rules cover what happens inside Drive. They don’t lock a phone left in a van. The device side still matters:

• A screen lock and auto-lock, so a lost phone isn’t an open door.
• USB data transfer off, so files can’t be copied to a laptop that isn’t yours.
• Screenshots off on devices that show customer or patient details.
• Encryption on, and apps from outside Google Play blocked.

NounDesk’s policy templates, such as Maximum Security and Field Worker, cover these in plain English. Each setting shows which Android version it needs. For more on keeping devices patched, see how to keep company Android phones updated.

If new Workspace features mean more people want admin rights to set them up, give that access carefully. Google now supports temporary admin roles, and we cover both in who should have admin access to company phones.

What to do this week

1. Check the Gemini Notebook setting. In the Google Admin console, see which groups or organizational units have Gemini and Gemini Notebook set to On.
2. Split shared from assigned. Make a list of which devices are shared or public-facing. Put them on their own mobile device management policy if they aren’t already.
3. Decide per group. Leave Gemini Notebook available on assigned phones if people will use it. Block it, or use kiosk mode, on shared ones.
4. Write one Drive rule. Start with a single rule for your most sensitive files and see how it behaves before adding more.
5. Check the basics on field phones. Screen lock, USB data transfer and screenshots, on every policy.

FAQ

Is Gemini Notebook turned on by default in Google Workspace?

Yes. Notebooks in Gemini are enabled by default. Users get them when both Gemini and Gemini Notebook are set to On for their group or organizational unit in the Google Admin console.

Can staff record audio with Gemini Notebook on Android?

Yes. The Gemini Notebook mobile app now has an audio recorder on Android and iOS. Google says the notes tie in with the notebook’s sources for citation and editing.

How do I keep Gemini Notebook off shared tablets?

Turn Gemini Notebook off for the organizational unit the shared accounts belong to, and block the app in the device policy for those tablets. For single-purpose devices, kiosk mode keeps them to the apps you choose.

New Workspace features keep arriving, and the questions for shared devices stay the same: who’s signed in, and what can this device do. If you want to set that per group of devices, see how NounDesk manages Android fleets.