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View a list of apps that have access to your Drive account and be sure to remove any that are suspicious, no longer used, or no longer available. Morsa Images/Getty Images
Over the years, I can’t tell you how many third-party apps and services I’ve given access to my Google Drive account. Some of those apps are still around and in use, while others have either come and gone or are no longer necessary for my purposes. Now, I can quit all those stray apps connected to my Google Drive. Or, I could do the smart thing and revoke their access.
But why bother?
Too: How to organize your Google Drive: 5 tips to know
Simply put… Security and Privacy.
When you allow an app to access your Google Drive account, you make it possible for it to read content. Now, for the most part, it’s safe. It is not that most of these apps are spying on you. But here’s the thing: You might have granted an app access to your Drive account years ago and forgotten about it. Now, that app may still be around and be quite legitimate, or it may have changed hands and is being used for nefarious purposes. Because “you never know” applies here, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
To that end, I always find it best to revoke access to apps I no longer use or are no longer valid. One cool thing about Google Drive is that it will tell you when an app is inactive or no longer has access to your account, at which point you can easily delete any associated data.
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Why in a nutshell: Revoking access can protect you from rogue apps that have access to your Drive account, and also free up valuable space.
With those two important benefits in mind, let me show you how easy it is to revoke access.
How to revoke access to Google Drive
what you’ll need: To revoke access from Drive, all you need is a valid Google Account. That’s it. Let’s narrow down some access to your Google Drive account.
The first thing to do is open a web browser and log in to drive.google.com.
Click the gear icon near the top right corner of the Drive window and select Settings from the drop-down.
Accessing Google Drive settings from the gear icon. Jack Wallen/ZDNet
In the left sidebar, click Manage apps from the list.
You can also view your storage from this window. Jack Wallen/ZDNet
Locate any apps in your list that you either no longer use or don’t want access to your account. From that app listing, click the Related Options drop-down and click Disconnect from Drive.
You can either view the product page (to get a better idea of what the application is) or simply disconnect it. Jack Wallen/ZDNet
In the resulting popup, make sure Also remove hidden app data created by this app is checked (yes, this is the actual action of the feature – my writer’s brain wants so badly to change it). Click Disconnect and the app in question will no longer have access to your account.
You should also delete any hidden data that may be related to the app. Jack Wallen/ZDNet
Continue viewing the list of apps that have access to your Drive account and be sure to remove any that are suspicious, no longer used, or no longer available. I usually do this at the end or beginning of every year, to make sure the drive is kept free and clear of apps I no longer trust or use. Be sure to do this regularly so that your Google Drive account is better protected and free of unnecessary data.
