How to Review and Remove Connected Apps on Your Google Account

Key takeaways

• Connected apps are outside services you have allowed into your Google account
• Start with apps that can read or change your Gmail, Drive or Calendar
• “Sign in with Google” alone is usually lower risk than full data access
• Removing access is reversible: you can reconnect later if you need to
• Check Microsoft, Dropbox, GitHub and Slack the same way
• Repeat every three months, and straight away after a breach notice

Over the years most of us click “Allow” for dozens of handy tools: a scheduler, a PDF signer, an AI note-taker. Each one is a door into your account, and some lead to services you have never heard of.

This guide answers one question: how do you review and remove connected apps on your Google account? It builds on our Black October article and Nate B Jones’s video on this month’s security failures.

What are connected apps on a Google account?

Connected apps are third-party services you have given permission to use your Google account. Some only use it to sign you in. Others can read your email, see your files or add events to your calendar.

Why should you review them now?

Because every connection is another route in, and this month showed how quickly routes get used. In the video, Nate B Jones points out that an app you connect can depend on a hosting company and software you have never heard of. A weakness anywhere along that chain can expose your data.

Removing apps you do not use is what security people call reducing your attack surface. Fewer doors means fewer places for things to go wrong.

How do you review and remove connected apps on Google?

It takes about 15 minutes on a computer. Labels can change slightly over time, but the route has stayed much the same.

1. Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in
2. Select Security in the menu
3. Scroll to the section about your connections to third-party apps and services and select See all connections
4. Open each app and read the list of what it has access to
5. For anything you do not recognise or no longer use, choose the option to delete connections with that app
6. For apps you keep, ask: does it need all of this? If not, remove it and reconnect with fewer permissions, if the app allows that
7. Finish with Google’s Security Checkup, which also flags third-party access

Which permissions should worry you most?

Anything that can read, send or delete email, or see, edit and delete all your files. These are the permissions an attacker would most like to borrow.

• Full Gmail access: read, compose, send and permanently delete email
• Full Drive access: see, edit, create and delete all your files
• Contacts access: useful for scams that target people you know
• Old apps from companies that have closed: nobody is looking after that access any more

If an app only needs one folder or one calendar, broad access is a warning sign. Look for a tool that asks for less.

How do you check Microsoft and other accounts?

Use the same idea: find the page that lists app access, read it, and remove what you do not need.

If you keep a list of what has access to what, our guide Build an AI Access Register Before Permissions Spread shows a simple way to record it.

Can AI help you review connected apps?

Yes, as a second pair of eyes. Nate suggests giving Claude, ChatGPT or Codex the app names and their permission descriptions, and asking it to flag anything risky.

Copy the app name and permission text only. Never paste passwords, recovery codes or API keys into the chat. A prompt like this works well:

“Here are the apps connected to my Google account and what each can access. For each one, tell me whether the access looks more than it needs, and what I should check before removing it. Keep a list of what you reviewed.”

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Only checking once. New connections build up; set a three-monthly reminder
• Forgetting work accounts. They often hold the most sensitive data
• Removing a live automation by accident. Check first, as above
• Ignoring breach notices. If a connected service reports a breach, revoke its access straight away and reconnect only once it is fixed

Browser extensions are the other half of this job. Our sibling guide, How to Check Your Browser Extensions and Limit Their Site Access, covers them step by step.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

Connected apps are easy to add and easy to forget. A 15-minute review of your Google account removes old doors into your email and files, and costs nothing. Your next step: open myaccount.google.com now and remove one app you no longer use.

Related posts

• Black October: Why Attackers Want Your AI Keys and What to Do This Week
• How to Check Your Browser Extensions and Limit Their Site Access
• Build an AI Access Register Before Permissions Spread

Garry Knight

I'm Garry Knight, the person behind Prodify Digital. I write about email list building, email marketing, SEO, AI search and the tools that connect them. My aim is to make online marketing easier to understand, so creators and small business owners can make informed decisions about building an audience and keeping people engaged. Here you'll find straightforward guides and product reviews that explain what something does, where it fits and which limitations matter. The focus is on clear explanations and useful next steps—not hype, shortcuts or promises of easy earnings.

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