Google NotebookLM
(Generated by AI, ChatGPT Deep Research, on July 4th 2025)
1. Tool Overview
Google NotebookLM is an AI-powered note-taking and research assistant developed by Google. It helps users organise and analyze information by allowing them to upload documents (PDFs, Google Docs/Slides, websites, etc.) and then ask questions or generate summaries based on that content. The tool is designed to be “grounded in data that users provide”, acting as an instant expert on the user’s own sources. In practical terms, NotebookLM can explain complex topics, create summaries or outlines (e.g. for presentations), and extract insights from a collection of documents, complete with citations for transparency. The service is available via a web interface (at notebooklm.google.com) and now also through mobile apps, and it supports over 35 languages for input and output.
Originally introduced in 2023 as “Project Tailwind” under Google Labs, NotebookLM has since evolved into a more widely available product. As of 2025, it is offered in two main modes:
- Personal (Consumer) NotebookLM: Accessible with a personal Google account, currently free to use.
- Enterprise/Workspace NotebookLM: Integrated into Google Workspace for organizations (branded as NotebookLM Plus for Workspace users, or NotebookLM Enterprise for a standalone Google Cloud offering). This version includes enhanced features and security for business/government use.
NotebookLM’s intended use is to accelerate learning and knowledge sharing in contexts like education, research, or workplace document management. For example, a user can upload policy documents or research papers and quickly generate a briefing or Q&A based on that content. It emphasises trustworthy output by grounding answers in the user’s provided sources, which is valuable for users who need reliable, source-cited information rather than a generic internet answer.
2. Privacy Settings
Data Use and Training: Google emphasizes that NotebookLM does not use your content to train its AI models. In other words, any documents you upload or questions you ask are not fed into Google’s AI training pipelines. This is a key privacy protection. Google’s support documentation states: “We value your privacy and never use your personal data to train NotebookLM.” Additionally, for those using NotebookLM via a work/school Google Workspace account, no human reviewers will inspect your uploads or queries, and your data won’t be used to improve the product unless you explicitly provide feedback. (In the consumer version, Google personnel might review snippets only if you choose to submit feedback for troubleshooting or abuse prevention, and even then users are cautioned not to share sensitive info in feedback.)
Organizational Control: When NotebookLM is used in an enterprise or educational setting, it falls under the organisation’s Google Workspace policies. In February 2025 Google made NotebookLM a core service of Workspace for eligible editions. This means enterprise administrators can manage its availability and settings similar to other Google services. By default, it’s on for supported Workspace accounts, but admins can turn NotebookLM on or off for some or all users. This provides a privacy control – e.g. an organisation could disable NotebookLM for departments handling very sensitive data if needed.
Data Boundaries: In an enterprise context, NotebookLM operates within your organisation’s trusted boundary. Google explicitly states that for Workspace users, “your uploads, queries and the model’s responses are not shared outside your organization’s trust boundary”. In practical terms, this means content a UK government user uploads to NotebookLM Plus remains accessible only to that user (and those they explicitly share a notebook with) inside the organisation – it isn’t visible to Google’s general systems or other users outside the organisation. Furthermore, public sharing is disabled in the enterprise version: while personal users can choose to share notebooks (even via public links) if they want, organisations using NotebookLM Enterprise do not permit public notebook sharing to ensure data stays internal.
User Settings: Within the NotebookLM app itself, there are a few settings related to privacy/confidentiality. For example, users have control over who can access each of their notebooks (by inviting specific collaborators in the Plus/enterprise version). By default any notebook you create is private to you until you share it. There is no “searchable by public” option in enterprise mode, and even in consumer mode notebooks are private unless you actively share them. There isn’t a specific “privacy mode” toggle beyond these sharing controls. The main recommendation for privacy is choosing the right account: Google advises that sensitive data should only be used with NotebookLM under a managed Workspace account (which has the stricter protections), not a personal Google account. In summary, privacy in NotebookLM is ensured primarily by data segregation (your data stays yours and isn’t used to train AI), access control (notebooks default to private, enterprise admin oversight), and clear boundaries (enterprise data stays within the org’s domain and infrastructure).
3. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
The terms governing NotebookLM depend on the account type being used:
-
Personal Google Accounts: If you use NotebookLM with a regular Google account (@gmail.com, etc.), your use is subject to the standard Google Terms of Service. Your data is handled under Google’s general Privacy Policy. These terms are the same agreements that cover other consumer Google services. In essence, Google is the data controller for personal account usage of NotebookLM. It’s worth noting that even under the general terms, Google has stated it will not use NotebookLM user-provided content for advertising or AI training, which is consistent with their privacy commitments for this product.
-
Google Workspace Accounts (Enterprise/Education): If you access NotebookLM via a work or school account, it falls under your organisation’s Google Workspace agreement. Specifically, the Google Workspace Terms of Service apply for business users, and Google Workspace for Education Terms for education accounts. These incorporate Google’s Cloud Data Processing Addendum and other commitments to enterprise customers. Importantly, Google treats NotebookLM (and NotebookLM Plus) as core Workspace services for businesses. This means they come with the same data protection assurances as Gmail, Drive, etc. – for example, Google acts as a data processor for customer data under Workspace, only processing it to provide the service and following the customer’s instructions in the contract. Also, Workspace core services have no ads and limited data use by Google, per Workspace privacy commitments.
For government use, being a Workspace core service is significant because it means NotebookLM is covered by Google’s enterprise privacy commitments and data processing terms. These include compliance with UK GDPR/DPA requirements via the standard data processing addendum, model contract clauses, etc. For instance, data in NotebookLM under Workspace is handled in accordance with the Google Cloud privacy terms that meet European/UK data protection standards. The Workspace Admin Privacy Hub explicitly includes NotebookLM and clarifies that content is processed within the user’s domain and not retained beyond the session (see §4.4).
Privacy Policy References: Google’s main Privacy Policy covers NotebookLM usage for personal accounts, detailing how data may be collected and used generally (e.g. for service functionality, maintaining quality, etc.). For Workspace accounts, Google’s processing of customer data is additionally constrained by the contractual obligations (Google does not own or freely use the data). The NotebookLM Help Center also provides a privacy notice specific to NotebookLM, summarising that usage of the tool is under those respective terms and reiterating that personal data isn’t used for model training.
In summary, personal use = Google ToS + Privacy Policy, enterprise use = Google Workspace terms + Cloud privacy commitments. UK government users would likely use NotebookLM under a Google Workspace Enterprise agreement, ensuring that Google is bound to handle data according to government standards and only for the purposes of delivering the NotebookLM service.
4. Data Management
4.1 Server Location and Data Residency
Data Centers & Regions: Google NotebookLM’s backend runs on Google’s cloud infrastructure. The physical servers processing and storing data may be located in multiple data centers, depending on the region configuration:
-
For NotebookLM Enterprise (the Google Cloud project-based offering), organisations can choose the data residency. When setting up, the admin selects a geographic scope for data storage. As of mid-2025, Google offers US and EU multi-region options (as well as a “Global” option) for NotebookLM Enterprise deployments. The service is accessed via a project- and region-specific URL, meaning a UK organisation could choose the EU multi-region to ensure data is stored within European data centers. (The EU multi-region typically includes Google’s European facilities, which would cover data sovereignty concerns for UK since the UK has adequacy with EU GDPR at present.) Google has indicated more regional options are planned in the future beyond US and EU.
-
For NotebookLM Plus as a Workspace core service, data residency is tied to Google Workspace’s data region settings. If the UK government’s Google Workspace environment is configured to store certain core data in European data centers, NotebookLM Plus will honour those settings. In fact, Google’s Workspace Updates announcement implied that by becoming a core service, NotebookLM falls under the same data location commitments as other core apps. For example, if an organisation has elected to keep Drive/Docs data in the “EUROPE” region only, the content added to NotebookLM through that account should also reside in EU data centers (this is because NotebookLM Plus uses Google Drive for storing user notebooks and sources in the backend). A Google support forum response confirms that NotebookLM Plus “would also respect any geographic location restrictions you had set for Workspace”.
-
For personal Google accounts, there is currently no user-controlled data residency choice. Google will store and process NotebookLM data in its global infrastructure. Typically, Google might use US-based servers or a global pool for such additional services (Google hasn’t explicitly stated the default region for consumer NotebookLM). So, a UK user’s data could be stored outside the UK (e.g. in the US). This is a consideration for government use: it would be preferable to use NotebookLM in an enterprise context where EU-region storage can be enforced, rather than a personal context where data might default to the US.
In all cases, NotebookLM’s application is globally accessible (the service itself is available in 180+ countries as of 2025), but the storage location of data can be constrained in enterprise scenarios. There are no hard restrictions noted on using NotebookLM specifically for UK Government data aside from general cloud usage policies – however, the location of processing (EU vs US) and compliance with UK data policies would need to be considered. Using the EU region setting would typically satisfy UK public sector requirements for data residency (since EU GDPR standards are comparable to UK GDPR).
4.2 Data in Transit
All data in transit between users and the NotebookLM service is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS. Google applies the latest cryptographic standards (such as TLS 1.3) for communications with its cloud services. In fact, Google Workspace (of which NotebookLM is now a part) “encrypts all data at rest and in transit between our facilities” by default. This means when you upload a document to NotebookLM or ask it a question via the web interface, that traffic is protected from eavesdropping by industry-standard encryption. Similarly, any communication between Google’s internal servers (for example, between the NotebookLM application and its storage backend) is also encrypted in transit.
For an end-user, there is little configuration needed or visible; the web app is simply always under HTTPS. This ensures that sensitive content (like possibly classified or personal data in a document) isn’t exposed on the network when using NotebookLM over the internet.
Additional Transit Protections: For enterprise deployments, Google provides features to further safeguard data in transit by limiting how and where NotebookLM can be accessed. Specifically, VPC Service Controls (VPC-SC) integration is available for NotebookLM Enterprise. VPC Service Controls allow an organisation to create a secure perimeter around Google Cloud services, so that NotebookLM’s API cannot be invoked from outside the organisation’s network or approved environment. According to Google, NotebookLM Enterprise’s UI does use a public endpoint, but VPC-SC can enforce that any data requests to the service originate from authorised IP ranges, devices, or contexts. In combination with Context-Aware Access (Access Levels), a department could, for example, require that only users on the government VPN or managed devices can access NotebookLM. If someone tried from an unapproved network, the requests would be blocked. This is a powerful option for UK government scenarios where controlling network pathways is important for security.
In summary, data in transit to/from NotebookLM is securely encrypted by default (meeting typical government security requirements for data transmission), and enterprise admins have tools like VPC-SC to additionally fence in the service’s usage to trusted networks.
4.3 Data at Rest
When data is stored on Google’s servers for NotebookLM, it is encrypted at rest. This applies to both the content you upload (sources) and the content NotebookLM generates or stores in notebooks. Google Cloud automatically encrypts customer content on disk using AES-256 or similar strong encryption, and this is done by default without any action required from the user. In Google’s documentation it states: “Like all Google Cloud services, NotebookLM Enterprise encrypts customer content at rest”. This encryption is with Google-managed keys by default – Google holds the encryption keys and manages key rotation and security.
For organisations that require more control, Customer-Managed Encryption Keys (CMEK) are supported in NotebookLM Enterprise. Through CMEK, a UK government department could supply and manage their own encryption keys using Google Cloud KMS, and have NotebookLM use those keys to encrypt the stored data. This means the organisation can control key rotation schedules, revoke access by destroying keys if needed, and audit key usage. (There are some limitations to CMEK usage with NotebookLM, such as keys must reside in US or EU multi-regions, and keys cannot be easily changed once set, but the option exists for heightened control).
In practical terms, what data is stored? NotebookLM stores:
- The notebooks you create (which may include your notes and the list of source materials attached).
- The source files or data you attach to a notebook. Notably, if you connect a Google Drive document or other file as a source, NotebookLM will take a copy of that content into its own storage for analysis. (This is done so that the AI can index and retrieve information quickly without repeatedly calling external APIs). That copied data at rest is also encrypted. In the enterprise version, these stored sources actually reside in your Google Cloud project’s storage, under your control – meaning the government’s own cloud environment holds the data, not a Google-managed pool. In the Workspace NotebookLM Plus scenario, the data is in Google’s multi-tenant cloud but logically isolated to your organisation’s account, encrypted and protected as part of Google Workspace.
Google’s encryption at rest, combined with its robust access controls, helps ensure that even if someone gained physical access to the disks or files, they could not read the data without the keys. Additionally, Google has internal protocols to prevent unauthorised staff access to customer data (covered under compliance certifications and Access Transparency logs, see §5 and §7).
To summarise: Data stored in NotebookLM is always stored in encrypted form on disk. By default Google manages the encryption keys securely, but enterprise customers have the option to manage their own keys for an extra layer of control. This, along with Google’s redundant and secure data center design, addresses data-at-rest security requirements for sensitive government data.
4.4 Data Retention
Ephemeral vs Persistent Data: NotebookLM distinguishes between transient conversational data and persistent user content. According to Google’s Workspace privacy documentation, NotebookLM does not retain prompts/questions and AI responses after your session ends. In other words, if you ask NotebookLM a question (“Chat” with it) and it generates an answer, that interaction is not saved long-term in a way that’s tied to your account. Once the session or browser instance is closed, the prompt and answer are not stored in any user-accessible history, nor on the server side (beyond short-term caching needed to produce the answer). This is important – it means there is no chat log that could later be accessed or leaked. (It also means if you need a record of an answer, you should save it externally because NotebookLM won’t store it for you by default.)
On the other hand, uploaded sources and notebooks are retained until the user decides to remove them. These are considered user documents/data. For example, if you upload a PDF or create a notebook with notes, that data will stay in NotebookLM’s system until you delete the source or the notebook. Google treats this data in line with its cloud data handling policies: it remains stored (and encrypted) to serve the user, and if the user (or admin) deletes it, Google will purge it according to standard deletion processes. Under the Google Workspace Data Processing Addendum, once a customer deletes data, Google will remove it from active systems promptly and from backups within a specified timeframe (usually within 30-90 days).
Google’s Generative AI Privacy Hub provides a retention table that confirms:
- NotebookLM prompts/responses: Not retained beyond the session (no long-term storage).
- Uploaded files & user-created content: Retained as customer data and subject to deletion when the user or admin chooses (with adherence to the Data Processing Addendum for timely deletion).
For enterprise administrators, Google has made NotebookLM data exportable via tools like Google Takeout and the Data Export tool. This means an organisation can retrieve all user content from NotebookLM if needed (for example, when a staff member leaves, or for compliance checks). Users themselves can also export their NotebookLM notebooks and data through Google Takeout, which is a nice transparency feature.
Data Retention Policies: NotebookLM doesn’t impose a fixed retention limit (e.g. “data will auto-delete after X days”) on user content – it’s kept until deleted by the user/admin. However, admins could implement retention policies via Workspace Vault for the underlying files if needed (Vault might treat NotebookLM-added files similar to Drive files). The key point is Google isn’t purging anything on its own aside from the ephemeral Q&A memory.
One more privacy point: because questions are not logged or saved, it also means that sensitive queries are not lingering on servers after usage. Even Google’s internal audit logs do not record the content of user queries in NotebookLM. This minimises the footprint of potentially sensitive information.
In summary, NotebookLM keeps your documents and notes as long as you need them (subject to manual deletion or export), but it does not keep a history of your interactions with the AI once the session is over. This approach aligns well with privacy best practices and gives users/organisations full control over their data lifecycle.
5. Audit Logging
For enterprise deployments, NotebookLM offers audit logging capabilities that allow organisations to monitor usage of the tool. Administrators can review logs that record events such as users creating or deleting notebooks, uploading sources, sharing notebooks, etc. These logs typically capture the user ID, timestamp, the action performed, and the resource involved. For example, an audit log entry might show that user J.Smith@agency.gov added a file “PolicyDraft.pdf” to NotebookLM at a certain time.
Importantly, the content of queries/questions asked to the AI is not logged in these audit records. Google deliberately does not include prompt text or AI responses in the audit logs, likely to avoid sensitive data appearing in log storage. This means while admins can see that a user used the service or added a source, they cannot see what exact question the user asked NotebookLM. This design protects user privacy and sensitive info (which is important in settings like government where even the questions could divulge classified intent or information).
These audit logs are accessible through Google Cloud’s Cloud Logging interface for NotebookLM Enterprise (the service logs under the identifier discoveryengine.googleapis.com since NotebookLM uses that under the hood). In a Google Workspace context (NotebookLM Plus), similar logs might be made available via the admin security center or an API, although as of early 2025 Google’s documentation focuses on the Cloud project logs.
From a security and compliance standpoint, audit logging is crucial. It enables:
- Tracking of user activity: e.g., to detect if someone accessed a document they shouldn’t have or exported a lot of data from NotebookLM.
- Incident investigations: if there’s a data leak suspicion, admins can check logs to see if NotebookLM was used inappropriately.
- Compliance audits: demonstrating who had access to what information and when, if required for regulatory reasons.
Additionally, Google Cloud offers Access Transparency logs for some services, which log Google administrator access to customer content. According to Google’s compliance info, Access Transparency is supported for NotebookLM Enterprise in US/EU regions. This would log if any Google personnel (e.g. for support cases) had to access your NotebookLM data, providing an extra layer of accountability. Typically, such access is rare and only occurs if you lodge a support ticket and grant permission.
For the UK government, these logging features mean you can integrate NotebookLM into your security monitoring. Logs can be exported to a SIEM or monitoring tool, and can be used to ensure proper use of the service. The fact that content questions aren’t logged is a double-edged sword: it’s good for privacy, though it means if a user asked something sensitive you rely on other controls rather than seeing it in logs.
6. Access Controls
NotebookLM integrates with Google’s identity and access management systems, giving robust control over who can use the tool and what they can do within it.
User Authentication: For Workspace/Enterprise use, NotebookLM uses Google Account authentication. This means it supports all of Google’s login security features (2-Step Verification, single sign-on, etc.). Notably, Google allows SSO integration and federation for enterprise users. In fact, NotebookLM Enterprise supports both native Google logins and third-party identity providers via SAML/OIDC. UK government organisations often use their own Identity Providers (like Azure AD or Okta); they can integrate those so that users log into NotebookLM with their government credentials. Alternatively, Google’s Workforce Identity Federation can be used so that you don’t have to create Google accounts for each user – you can trust your existing IdP and still grant access to NotebookLM. This flexibility means NotebookLM can fit into an existing enterprise identity management regime without introducing a new silo of accounts.
Authorisation & Sharing: Once users are authenticated, NotebookLM controls access to content through Google Cloud IAM roles (for Enterprise) and sharing settings:
-
In NotebookLM Enterprise, each notebook has permissions that can be managed. Google provides predefined roles: NotebookLM Owner, Editor, Viewer. The Owner (creator by default) can add others, Editors can modify content, Viewers can only view and query. These roles can be assigned to specific users or groups. An important point: In the enterprise version, notebooks cannot be shared publicly on the internet. You can only share with specific identities (users/groups in your organisation or, if allowed, trusted external partners with Google accounts). This ensures sensitive notebooks don’t accidentally get a public link.
-
In the Workspace NotebookLM Plus context, sharing is also available but likely constrained to the organisation’s domain by default. Google mentions that users “can control who has access to their notebooks and set more granular permissions within each”, which mirrors the Owner/Editor/Viewer concept. As a core service, NotebookLM adheres to the organisation’s sharing policies (for instance, an admin can disable sharing outside the domain entirely). So, a government admin could enforce that NotebookLM notebooks are only shareable with colleagues internal to the government tenant, preventing any external access.
By default, any NotebookLM content a user creates is private to them until they share it. This least-privilege default is good practice.
Admin Controls: Beyond user-driven sharing, admins have macro-level control. They can turn the service on/off per organizational unit as mentioned, and they can leverage Google Workspace’s Access Control features:
- For example, an admin could require that only users in certain groups (say, a pilot group) are allowed to use NotebookLM, by turning it off for others.
- Admins can also use Context-Aware Access to set conditions on usage (as discussed in Data in Transit). If the UK government wants NotebookLM only accessible from secure devices or networks, they can enforce that via Access Levels policies.
- Moreover, because NotebookLM Enterprise runs in a Google Cloud project, VPC Service Controls can be used to restrict API access. This means even if a user has credentials, if they are not on the secure network, the service calls could be blocked. VPC-SC essentially acts as a firewall around the NotebookLM API. This is a strong control to prevent data from being exfiltrated to untrusted locations.
No Direct Git or External Data Push: (The user’s note mentioned Git commits as an example – while not directly relevant to NotebookLM’s functionality, it’s worth noting NotebookLM doesn’t have capabilities to arbitrarily connect to external systems on its own. It can export to Google Docs or copy text, but it cannot, say, directly commit code to a repository. So risk of it acting on external systems is minimal. All actions stay within the app’s boundaries and the user’s control.)
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Although NotebookLM doesn’t have built-in DLP scanning yet, existing enterprise DLP solutions can cover it. Since NotebookLM is a web app, any web proxy or Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) the government uses can monitor traffic to NotebookLM. If someone tried to input restricted data, your DLP proxy could flag or block it. Similarly, outputs coming from the service are just web data that can be monitored. This means agencies can extend their existing data protection rules to NotebookLM’s usage.
Overall, NotebookLM provides granular access control at the user, document, and network level:
- Identity management via Google/SSO ensures only authorised users get in.
- Notebook-level sharing permissions ensure users only see what they should.
- Admin policies (on/off, internal/external sharing rules) provide organisational governance.
- Network context controls (VPC-SC, context-aware rules) add an additional security layer appropriate for sensitive environments.
For UK government adoption, these controls mean NotebookLM can be deployed in a managed, compliant way – accessible to the right people on the right devices, and unable to leak data to the wrong places.
7. Compliance and Regulatory Requirements
Google NotebookLM’s compliance posture leverages Google’s broader cloud compliance programs. Below is a summary of relevant standards and commitments:
-
UK GDPR / Data Protection Act 2018: Google, as a processor for Workspace NotebookLM data, is bound by the Google Cloud Data Processing Addendum which incorporates Standard Contractual Clauses and meets UK/EU GDPR requirements. Personal data handled in NotebookLM (e.g. if documents contain personal info) is protected under these terms. Google also offers Data Residency options (EU region) which aids GDPR compliance by keeping data in Europe.
-
ISO/IEC 27001 (Information Security Management): Google Workspace (and Google Cloud) are certified to ISO 27001. While NotebookLM Enterprise itself is newly launched and was not immediately in scope of Google’s ISO certifications, Google has stated that NotebookLM Enterprise inherits many controls from certified infrastructure and will be included in future certification audits. For NotebookLM Plus as part of Workspace, it would fall under Workspace’s ISO 27001 certification scope (since Workspace core services are ISO 27001 certified).
-
ISO/IEC 27017 (Cloud Security) & ISO/IEC 27018 (Cloud Privacy): Google is certified for these cloud-specific extensions of ISO 27001 for its cloud services. Again, NotebookLM as part of Google’s cloud should adhere to these practices (27018 is particularly about protection of personal data in the cloud, which aligns with Google’s promises not to use personal data for anything outside the service). Google has plans to explicitly include NotebookLM Enterprise in these certifications as audits occur.
-
ISO/IEC 27701 (Privacy Information Management): Google Cloud also maintains ISO 27701 certification (extension for privacy management) for its operations. This underpins their privacy program’s rigor and would extend to services like NotebookLM.
-
SOC 2 & SOC 3 (Service Organization Controls): Google undergoes SOC 2 and SOC 3 audits for its cloud services. While in early 2025 NotebookLM Enterprise itself did not yet have a separate SOC report, it benefits from the same controls that Google Cloud’s SOC audit covers. Google notes that NotebookLM Enterprise will “be included in future certification audits” for SOC reports. For Workspace NotebookLM, Google Workspace’s SOC 2 report would cover the core services (and by extension NotebookLM Plus would be under that umbrella of controls and assurances).
-
PCI DSS: Google Cloud has services certified for PCI DSS (payment card data standard). NotebookLM is not a payment processing service, so PCI might not directly apply unless you were inputting card data (not typical). Google’s statement is that NotebookLM Enterprise inherits Google Cloud’s security controls but it wasn’t specifically certified for PCI as of mid-2025 (marked with * in compliance docs). Likely not relevant to government use.
-
HIPAA: As of mid-2025, NotebookLM Enterprise is HIPAA-supporting. Google’s documentation shows a checkmark for HIPAA compliance for NotebookLM Enterprise, meaning Google will sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for it. This indicates the service can be used with protected health information under proper controls. (A third-party source in early 2025 questioned HIPAA compliance, but Google’s own docs updated June 2025 list HIPAA as supported for NotebookLM Enterprise. It’s possible that NotebookLM Plus in Workspace will similarly be covered by Workspace’s HIPAA BAA for Enterprise Plus customers, though organisations should confirm with Google).
-
FedRAMP: Google Workspace has a FedRAMP Moderate authorization and Google Cloud has FedRAMP High for certain offerings. NotebookLM was not yet FedRAMP authorised at the time of writing. Google’s FAQ noted “NotebookLM does not support … FedRAMP compliance” at this stage. This means US federal agencies (and by extension, possibly UK OFFICIAL equivalence) might treat it as not yet accredited under that framework. However, the underlying Google Cloud platform is FedRAMP-audited. For UK, FedRAMP status is not directly required, but the lack of it simply signals it’s a newer service. UK authorities would look at its ISO 27001 and other certifications instead, and possibly do their own risk assessment given no specific PSN/UK-OFFICIAL certification exists for it currently.
-
UK-specific standards: While not explicitly stated for NotebookLM, Google Cloud data centres and services adhere to the NCSC Cloud Security Principles and Google has published mappings to those principles as part of their security whitepapers. Google is also a member of the EU Cloud Code of Conduct and meets NHS DSP Toolkit requirements (for health data) via its BAA. These are indirectly relevant if the government needs assurance – they would largely derive from Google’s overall compliance rather than NotebookLM uniquely.
Google summarises their approach: many Google products are regularly audited by independent parties and have achieved certifications or attestations across key global standards. Because NotebookLM rides on Google’s cloud infrastructure (and for Plus, on Workspace), it benefits from those same security and privacy controls. Google explicitly says that NotebookLM Enterprise, being built on the same Google Cloud infrastructure as many certified products, inherits a significant number of security and privacy controls and will be included in upcoming audits for ISO, SOC, etc.
Compliance for UK Government Adoption: The service can be considered to comply with mainstream security standards (ISO 27001, etc.). A UK government entity would likely want to ensure a DPA (data processing agreement) is in place (Google’s is), that the service is within the scope of ISO certifications (Workspace core is; standalone enterprise soon to be), and that data residency and encryption meet requirements (they do, as discussed). While not formally “OFFICIAL-sensitive” accredited by UK, many government departments rely on ISO/SOC and supplier assurances – which Google provides in detail in its trust center.
References / Sources for Compliance Info:
- Google Cloud’s compliance page for Agentspace/NotebookLM Enterprise lists the standards and statuses (HIPAA supported; ISO, SOC, PCI inherited controls).
- Google Workspace Security Whitepaper lists the independent certifications (ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, SOC 2/3, etc.) that cover Workspace services.
- Google’s FedRAMP and other governmental compliance info (Workspace is on FedRAMP Moderate, but NotebookLM itself not yet FedRAMP).
- Conclusion: From a policy perspective, Google NotebookLM can be operated in a way that aligns with UK government security and privacy requirements, given its strong encryption, data residency options, and backing compliance credentials. The main gap to be aware of is the newness of the product – some certifications are in progress. A risk assessment would weigh that, but the underlying Google infrastructure’s certified status provides a strong level of assurance.
8. References
- Google Support – NotebookLM Help: “Learn about NotebookLM”. (Overview of NotebookLM features and privacy notice)
- Google Workspace Updates Blog: “NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus now available as a Google Workspace core service with enterprise-grade data protection” (Feb 5, 2025). (Announcements on NotebookLM’s status in Workspace, data protections, and features)
- Google Cloud – NotebookLM Enterprise (Google Agentspace docs): Customer-Managed Encryption Keys & Compliance. (Details on encryption at rest, CMEK, and compliance certifications for NotebookLM Enterprise)
- Medium (Google Cloud Community blog) – Sandeep Agarwal: “NotebookLM Enterprise Security – enterprise-grade security and compliance” (June 13, 2025). (Summarises identity, IAM, VPC-SC, data residency, encryption, logging for NotebookLM Enterprise)
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub (June 27, 2025). (Covers how Gemini and NotebookLM handle data, including retention and admin controls)
- Google Cloud Community Q&A: “When I use NotebookLM Plus, where is my data stored?” (March 30, 2025). (Discussion of data residency for NotebookLM Plus as a core service)
- Google Support – Google Workspace Security Whitepaper: “Supporting compliance requirements”. (Lists Google Workspace compliance certifications and standards)
- Google Support – Google Workspace Admin Help: “Turn Google NotebookLM on or off for users”. (Admin control documentation referenced in Workspace Updates)
- Texas A&M University – NotebookLM FAQ: “How does NotebookLM protect my data?” (Higher-ed perspective confirming enterprise protections: no training on data, no human review, etc.)
- Google Transparency: Encryption in Transit in Google Cloud. (General Google Cloud security practice confirming all data is encrypted in transit)