Connected Apps let Gemini work with Google apps and other services to give tailored help. Google's help page warns that it does not monitor or secure custom third party Connected Apps, and that connecting them may expose your data, passwords and accounts. Disconnect from Connected Apps settings.
What the help page says
Gemini can work with Google apps and third party services to provide tailored help. A few points from the page are worth reading slowly.
- Third party services process your data under their own privacy policies.
- Google says it does not monitor or secure data from custom third party Connected Apps. The page warns that connecting them may expose your data, passwords and accounts.
- Disconnecting an app does not delete data already in your Gemini Apps Activity.
- Some apps, such as Google Workspace, are unavailable when Keep Activity is off.
- You connect or disconnect apps in your Connected Apps settings.
Why this is a bigger decision than it looks
A chat alone sees only what you type. A connected assistant can read your mail, files or calendar when it answers. That is why people use it, and it is also the exposure. Anything in those sources can end up in a prompt, in the activity record and, for a small share of chats, in front of a reviewer.
A third party app adds another company's rules. Its retention, its sharing and its security are not Google's, and the help page says Google does not secure custom ones.
A short test before you connect anything
- What do I get that I could not do by pasting one document?
- What is the most sensitive item this app could read?
- Who is the app's maker, and have I read its privacy policy?
- Can I turn it off later, and what stays behind?
If you cannot answer the third question, wait.
How to keep it tidy
- Connect only what you use weekly.
- Review the list every few months.
- After disconnecting, delete related activity from Gemini Apps Activity yourself.
- Check the Keep Activity setting, since it interacts with some connections.
- For shared family computers, use separate profiles so one person's connections do not follow another.
Work accounts
If a company manages your Google account, an administrator may control which apps you can connect. Ask before connecting one for work content, because work data in a personal connection can break company rules.
Quick check
Does disconnecting an app delete what Gemini already saw?
No. Google says data already in your Gemini Apps Activity stays until you delete it.
Does Google vouch for every Connected App?
No. The page says it does not monitor or secure data from custom third party apps.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
