At some point, most of us have used our Facebook or Google account to play harmless quizzes and to find people who are stalking us on social media. However, in this process, we have nonchalantly handed over our account access to a multitude of websites and apps. This has allowed third-party apps to collect our personal data for years since the permission has been given permanently. So, in this article, I am going to show you to find and remove third-party app access from Google and Facebook account. Along with that, I have also mentioned some tips and recommendations to be safe online and protect your privacy. With all that said, let’s begin with the article and clean up our Google account first.
Revoke Third-party App Access from Google Account
If you regularly use your Google account to sign into multiple apps and websites then as an online safety routine, you should review the list of third-party apps that have your Google account access. Here is how you can do it.
1. On Android smartphones, simply open “Settings” of your device and navigate to the “Google” menu.
2. Next, tap on “Account Services” and then move to “Apps Connected”.
3. Here, you will find all the apps that are connected to your Google account. These apps might be harvesting your data since you have given permanent access to some or all parts of your Google account. To remove the apps that you find suspicious, open it and tap on “Disconnect”. That’s it.
4. If you are unable to find the dedicated settings in your Android device then open a web browser on your smartphone — preferably Chrome — and click on this link to open your Google Account Permissions page. You can use this method on your iPhone or computer as well. Now, open the apps that you find dubious and click on “Remove Access” to revoke the permission. Also, read our article on Google Chrome security to improve your privacy while using the browser.
While you are at it, remember to check what Google knows about you and delete the information that you deem private.
Revoke Third-party App Access from Your Facebook Account
When it comes to account sign-in on apps and websites, many people seem to use their Facebook account far more than Google account. For users, it makes for an easy transition since Facebook is where they spend most of their time. However, Facebook can pose a huge threat to your privacy as we have seen in a number of scandals and controversies in the past few years. Facebook has been accused of sharing user data with third-party companies and without user consent. It continues to harvest data through SDKs flouting user consent and choice. So, if you are using Facebook as your sign-in method, I would recommend you to not use it at all.
Apart from that, if you have already used Facebook to sign into multiple apps and websites then here is how you can revoke the permission.
1. Open the Facebook app and tap on the hamburger menu. Here, tap on “Settings and Privacy” and then open “Settings”.
2. Next, tap on “Apps and Websites” under the Security section and open “Logged in with Facebook”.
3. Here, you will find all the apps and websites where you have used Facebook as your sign-in method. These services can access your basic and personal information permanently. So to remove these third-party apps, tap on it and scroll down to the bottom. Finally, tap on “Remove” to revoke access from your Facebook account. Do this for all the apps that look dubious and harmful.
4. On top of it, if you want to completely disable Facebook sign-in method and terminate all the current apps having access to your Facebook account, open “Apps, websites and games” under the “Preferences” section. Here, tap on the “Turn off” button and you are done.
4. And if you don’t use the Facebook app, then open this link on a web browser either on your smartphone or computer. After that, review the apps similar to how we did in step #3 and remove the apps completely.
On a personal note, I don’t think anyone should be using Facebook if they are serious about their privacy. So, if someday you have enough, remember to delete your Facebook account and reclaim your privacy.
Remove Third-party App Access from Google and Facebook to Safeguard Your Privacy
So that was our take on how to remove third-party app access from Google and Facebook. While these sign-in methods do bring a seamless experience, there are high chances of data collection if you don’t carefully read the permissions while granting access. As a thumb rule, never allow apps that ask for more than your basic info. If an app wants to access your Google Drive or Gmail, do not proceed and instead sign up manually with an email ID and use a password manager to create and manage strong passwords. Anyway, that is all from us. If you found the article informative, do comment down below and let us know.
