Review apps connected to an online account.

1. Identify what each connection does

Google distinguishes using Google to sign in to another app, linking accounts so Google can access that service, and allowing another app to access Google Account data. One app can have more than one connection type. Review the details of the actual entry rather than making a decision from its name alone.

ATN suggests starting with the account you use for important work and listing unfamiliar or unused connections. Note what task originally required each one. A connection with an unclear purpose is a research item; it is not automatically evidence of misuse. Use the account’s known settings route rather than a link in an unexpected message.

Sources: [1]

2. Inspect the specific access granted

Google documents different access levels, including basic profile information, viewing or copying data, and managing data. Management permissions may allow actions such as editing, creating, or deleting account content. Read the scope shown for the app and compare it with the task you still want it to perform.

Avoid treating every connection as equivalent to giving away the account password. Also avoid assuming that a familiar app needs every available permission. If the scope is unclear, record the question and inspect the developer’s documentation and privacy information. Keep the exact app and account identity in your notes so you do not confuse personal and work connections.

Sources: [2]

3. Check dependencies before removing a connection

Decide whether the integration is still needed and whether removing it will interrupt an active workflow. Before removing a sign-in connection, understand the other service’s documented sign-in and recovery options. Do not experiment on your only route into an important account without knowing what the service supports.

For a routine unused connection, ATN recommends changing one entry at a time. Record the reason and the affected task, then use the account’s own removal control. Google notes that removing access can make dependent features unavailable. Keep that operational consequence distinct from a security conclusion; a stopped synchronization is not necessarily a broken account.

Sources: [1]

4. Separate revoked access from deleted information

Google states that revoking an app’s access stops further access to the account, but information already copied by the other developer may require a separate deletion request. Removing a sign-in link also does not itself erase the other app’s data.

Review the relevant service’s own controls if your goal includes closing that account or deleting retained information. Do not mark those separate tasks complete merely because the connection disappeared from a list. Similarly, if an agent has a separate permission to interact with an app, inspect that permission as its own setting instead of assuming every related authorization changes together.

Sources: [2] [1]

5. Verify the result and keep the review small

Return to the connection list and check the new state. If you retained the app, confirm that the access still matches the intended use. If you removed it, note any workflow that needs a replacement or manual step.

Keep passwords and access tokens out of this note. A short, accurate record makes a later review easier without creating a second sensitive credential store.