Gemini Connected Apps let Google’s Gemini work with supported apps and services so it can find information, answer questions, and in some cases take actions for you. The useful part is convenience. The important part is understanding what you are connecting, what Gemini can do with it, and what happens to your data when you disconnect it.
Gemini Connected Apps are integrations that allow Gemini to interact with supported apps and services with the permissions available to your account. You can review available connections from Settings & help → Connected Apps in Gemini on the web. Some users may instead see Connected Apps inside Personal Intelligence. Availability varies by device, country, account, language, Gemini surface, and feature rollout.
Most important: disconnecting an app stops or limits future interaction, but it does not automatically erase information already stored in Gemini Apps Activity or information another service has already received.
What Are Gemini Connected Apps?
Gemini Connected Apps are integrations that extend Gemini beyond a standalone chatbot. Instead of only responding from the conversation itself, Gemini can work with supported services to retrieve information or complete supported actions.
Depending on the app and your account, that could include tasks such as summarizing information, creating an event, finding content, playing media, sending a message, controlling certain device functions, or working with information stored in another service.
Google explains that the Connected Apps available to you can vary. An integration that appears on one Android phone, for example, may not appear in the Gemini web app or on an iPhone. Work and school accounts can also operate differently from personal Google Accounts.
Gemini can use certain public information from Google services separately from your Connected Apps settings. Connecting an app is more relevant when Gemini needs permission to work with your personal content, account data, or supported app actions.
What Can Gemini Connected Apps Do?
What Gemini can do depends on the individual integration. Google currently groups Connected Apps around activities such as productivity, media, everyday tasks, communication, device controls, and personalized experiences.
| Type of task | What Gemini may help with | What to check first |
|---|---|---|
| Productivity | Finding information, summarizing content, creating events or working across supported productivity services. | Which account and content the app can access. |
| Media | Finding or playing supported music, photos, videos or other media. | Whether personal libraries or account history are involved. |
| Communication | Making calls or sending messages through supported apps on compatible devices. | The recipient, app selected and content before sending. |
| Everyday tasks | Searching services, planning activities, finding options or completing supported actions. | Whether Gemini is only retrieving information or taking an action. |
| Device controls | Using supported Android or smart-home functions. | Who else can access a shared device or environment. |
The safest habit is to check the app’s details page before relying on it. Google’s Connected Apps settings can show an app’s description, supported actions, unsupported actions and example prompts.
How to Find Gemini Connected Apps
On a computer, Google’s current instructions use the Gemini web app. The exact interface may change over time, but the current route is straightforward.
Go to Gemini using the Google Account whose app connections you want to manage.
Look near the bottom of the Gemini interface for the settings menu.
If you do not see Connected Apps directly, Google says some accounts may show it inside Personal Intelligence.
The page shows the integrations currently available for your account and Gemini experience.
You can also read Google’s current Connected Apps instructions if your interface differs from the steps above.
How to Connect an App to Gemini
Once you are on the Connected Apps page, find the service you want Gemini to work with and turn the connection on. Some integrations may require an additional authorization or permission step.
Do not enable every integration simply because it is available. Start with one real task you want Gemini to handle, understand what that app supports, and keep only the connections that continue to provide useful value.
How to Use a Connected App in Gemini
You do not always have to name the app. Google says Gemini can automatically use an available Connected App when it is relevant to your request.
If you want to specify an app, type @ in the Gemini prompt box and select the available app you want Gemini to use. If it is not already connected, Gemini may connect it or ask you for permission first.
Example: summarize information you need for your day
Example: create an event carefully
Example: use a specific connected app
It creates a useful confirmation habit when you are learning what an integration can do. It does not replace the app’s own permissions, safeguards or confirmation systems.
How to Disconnect an App From Gemini
Disconnecting an integration is essentially the reverse of connecting it.
Use Settings & help → Connected Apps, or the route shown for your account.
Select the integration you no longer want Gemini to work with.
Follow any additional instructions Gemini or the connected service displays.
If your goal is privacy cleanup rather than just stopping access, also review Gemini Apps Activity and the connected service itself.
Google states that disconnecting an app does not delete data from Gemini Apps Activity. Likewise, deleting Gemini Apps Activity does not automatically delete information another service already received from Gemini.
What Data Do Gemini Connected Apps Share?
The answer depends on the connection and the task you request. Gemini may need to send information to a connected service so that service can complete your request, while an app can also provide information to Gemini when permitted and relevant.
Google says information shared with other Google services is handled under Google’s policies. Third-party services use information according to their own privacy policies and terms.
This is why the privacy question is not simply, “Do I trust Gemini?” You also need to consider the service being connected, the information required for your task, and what happens after information reaches that service.
Does Disconnecting an App Delete Your Data?
No—not automatically. This is one of the most important distinctions to understand when using Gemini Connected Apps.
| Action | What it primarily does | What it does not necessarily do |
|---|---|---|
| Disconnect an app | Stops or limits Gemini’s future interaction with that connection. | Does not automatically erase Gemini Apps Activity. |
| Delete Gemini Apps Activity | Lets you manage information stored in your Gemini activity. | Does not automatically erase information another app already received. |
| Delete data inside a connected service | Changes or removes information within that particular service according to its controls. | Does not automatically delete corresponding information already stored in Gemini Apps Activity. |
If you want to stop future access, disconnect the app. If you also want to clean up previously stored information, review Gemini Apps Activity and the connected service’s own account or privacy controls separately.
Google’s Gemini Apps Privacy Hub contains the current details on Connected Apps, activity controls and data handling.
Gemini Connected Apps and Keep Activity
Keep Activity is an important setting because it can affect which Connected Apps are available.
According to Google’s current documentation, when Keep Activity is turned off, Connected Apps are not available in the Gemini web app, on iOS, or on smartwatches. On Android, Google currently lists exceptions for Device assistance, Phone, Messages and WhatsApp.
| Gemini surface | When Keep Activity is off |
|---|---|
| Gemini on the web | Connected Apps are currently unavailable. |
| iPhone / iPad | Connected Apps are currently unavailable. |
| Smartwatch | Connected Apps are currently unavailable. |
| Android | Google currently allows certain exceptions, including Device assistance, Phone, Messages and WhatsApp. |
This makes Keep Activity one of the first things to check when Gemini Connected Apps suddenly disappear or an expected integration is unavailable.
Google’s Privacy Hub says that when Keep Activity is off, future chats do not appear in Gemini Apps Activity and are not used to train Google’s AI models unless you submit feedback, but chats are still retained with your account for up to 72 hours so Gemini can respond, process feedback where applicable and protect the service.
Why Is a Gemini Connected App Missing?
A missing app does not automatically mean Gemini is broken. Google explicitly says that the Connected Apps shown to you can vary by Gemini app, device, country and other availability factors.
Work through these checks in order:
If it is off, many Connected Apps are unavailable outside the supported Android exceptions.
An app available on Android may not appear on iOS or the web.
Personal, work and school Google Accounts can have different Connected Apps availability and controls.
Feature availability can differ by location and language.
If Connected Apps is not visible directly in settings, Google says it may appear under Personal Intelligence for some users.
A newly announced integration may not be available to every eligible account at the same time.
Google’s current help page says Gemini cannot use Connected Apps inside Gemini in Google Messages. That is different from using supported messaging integrations with Gemini on compatible Android devices.
Which Gemini Apps Should You Connect?
The better question is not “Which integrations can I enable?” It is “Which connections give me enough recurring value to justify the access they require?”
You regularly need Gemini to work with the service, understand the relevant permissions, and the integration saves meaningful time.
The app contains personal or important information, or Gemini can perform actions that affect other people, files, devices or accounts.
You rarely use the service with Gemini, do not understand the requested access, or would gain little from keeping the connection enabled.
The 5-question connection test
If you cannot name one, you probably do not need to connect it yet.
Think about messages, files, calendar details, contacts, media, location or other account information.
Reading or finding information has a different risk profile from creating, editing, sending or controlling something.
Third-party services handle received information under their own policies and terms.
Connections that remain enabled indefinitely can outlive the reason you originally created them.
Gemini Connected Apps Privacy Checklist
Use this quick audit whenever you connect a new service or review your existing Gemini setup.
Connected Apps vs AI Agents: What’s the Difference?
A Connected App gives Gemini a pathway to work with a particular service. An AI agent goes further by using tools, instructions and sometimes multiple steps to pursue a goal.
The distinction matters because Gemini’s newer agentic experiences can combine app access with more autonomous workflows. If you want to understand that broader shift, see our practical guide to AI agent examples .
Gemini Spark is another related example. Spark can use tools, tasks, schedules and skills for more advanced workflows. If you are comparing that experience with Gemini’s normal automation features, read Gemini Spark vs Scheduled Actions .
Final Takeaway
Gemini Connected Apps are most useful when you treat them as purposeful permissions, not switches to turn on once and forget.
Start with the job you want Gemini to do. Connect only the service needed for that job, inspect what the integration supports, and review the result before allowing important actions. If the connection stops being useful, disconnect it.
And remember the privacy distinction that matters most: disconnecting an app controls future access, but data cleanup may require separate action in Gemini Apps Activity and in the connected service itself.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gemini Connected Apps
What are Gemini Connected Apps?
Gemini Connected Apps are supported integrations that let Gemini work with other apps and services to retrieve information, provide more useful responses or complete supported actions with the permissions available to your account.
How do I connect an app to Gemini?
On the Gemini web app, open Settings & help and choose Connected Apps. If your account displays a different layout, Connected Apps may appear under Personal Intelligence. Find the supported app you want and turn the connection on, then complete any permission steps shown.
How do I disconnect an app from Gemini?
Open Gemini’s Connected Apps settings, find the service and turn its connection off. Disconnecting stops or limits future interaction through that connection, but it does not automatically erase Gemini Apps Activity or information another service has already received.
Why are Gemini Connected Apps missing?
Check Keep Activity first, then your device, Gemini surface, Google Account type, country, language and feature availability. Google says the list of available Connected Apps varies by these factors.
Are Gemini Connected Apps safe?
They include account controls and permission mechanisms, but no integration should be treated as risk-free. Review what an app can access or do, avoid unnecessary sensitive information, inspect important actions before completion, and remember that third-party services operate under their own policies and terms.
What data can Gemini Connected Apps access?
It depends on the specific integration, permission and task. Connected services can involve account information or content needed to complete your request. Review each app’s details and the relevant service’s privacy information before using it for sensitive workflows.
Does disconnecting an app delete my Gemini data?
No. Google states that disconnecting an app does not delete data from Gemini Apps Activity. You need to manage Gemini Apps Activity separately. Information already received by another service may also remain subject to that service’s own retention and deletion policies.
Do Gemini Connected Apps work when Keep Activity is off?
Availability becomes much more limited. Google’s current documentation says Connected Apps are unavailable on Gemini’s web experience, iOS and smartwatches when Keep Activity is off. On Android, certain integrations such as Device assistance, Phone, Messages and WhatsApp can still be available.
Can Gemini automatically use a Connected App?
Yes. Google says Gemini can automatically use an available Connected App when it is relevant to your prompt. You can also type @ and select a specific supported app when you want to direct Gemini to one connection.
Can I choose which app Gemini uses?
For supported apps, you can type @ in the Gemini prompt field and choose an available app. You can also connect or disconnect supported integrations through the Connected Apps settings.
Official Sources
Feature availability and privacy controls can change. This guide was reviewed against Google’s documentation on August 22, 2026.
