You can do it anytime, but the beginning of the year is a good time to review what websites and applications have permission to access your Google account.
You might be surprised by the number of sites that have access (I was!)
Normally, I’m pretty good about keeping site and app permissions limited on my account. I read terms of service (yes, I’m one of those people!) and remove permissions from apps after installation.
But I was caught unaware when I discovered several sites I no longer use still had permission to access my Google account.
Yikes!
Read on to learn how sites and apps get permission to your Google account and how you can remove access.
How Websites and Apps Get Permission to Your Google Account
When you install a new app on your smartphone, choose to add a comment to a Medium article, or add an extension for Google Forms, you may be asked for permission to access your Google account.
For example, when you download a fitness or time management app, the app will ask for access to your Google Calendar.
Depending on the app or website requesting access, you might have granted:
- Full account access
- Basic access
- Read and write access
to your account.
I won’t go into the details of what each one entails, you can learn more about the differences in access at Google Apps with access to your account.)
It’s not necessarily bad for apps or sites to have access to your Google account, you want to make sure they are apps or sites you’re using.
As you might guess, before granting full account access to any site or app, you’ll want to ask yourself, is this an app or site I trust?
(Tip: read their terms of service and privacy policy.)
How to Remove Access to Third Party Apps and Sites
After you’ve logged into your Google account, visit Apps with access to your account.
You’ll see a listing of sites and applications that have permission to access your account. Be sure to scroll or swipe down to see the full list.
For each app, select the app to find out what it has access to and when access was given.
If something looks odd, you don’t recognize the app/site, or no longer use the app/site, select Remove Access to revoke Google account access for that app or site.
Note: you may want to make a list of the apps that you revoke permission in case some site or app stops working.
Personally, I discovered sites that I haven’t used in two years. I quickly removed them from my account.
Note: you’ll likely have sites and apps that have valid reasons to access your Google account.
If you remove them by mistake, the next time you use that app or site you’ll be asked to provide access to your Google account.
Wrapping Up
Keeping your personal data safe is an ongoing project. It’s not something you do once and forget about.
Be diligent about making sure apps/sites only have permissions they need to your Google account.
Check your permissions regularly.
My recommendation: set up a regular recurring calendar event to review app/site permissions to your Google account.
