Are you concerned about recent news about social media companies’ privacy breaches? Apart from rigorous password hygiene and mandatory two factor authentication, you can take another step to greater security by periodically policing the apps/modules/websites that you’ve allowed to access your Google and Facebook accounts. ..

To review, check, calibrate, and remove connected apps from your Google account and Facebook accounts:

  1. Log in to your Google account or Facebook account.
  2. Click on the three lines in the top left corner of your screen (the blue bar).
  3. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a list of connected apps.
  4. To review an app, click on it. To check if an app is connected to your Google account or Facebook account, click on its name in the list of connected apps and then click on the green check mark next to it. If an app is not connected to either of your accounts, click on the red X next to it.
  5. To calibrate an app’s connection to both your accounts, click on its name in the list of connected apps and then click on the blue calibration button next to it. If an app is not calibrated yet, you will need to do so before using it with either of your accounts.
  6. To remove an app from both your accounts, click on its name in the list of connected apps and thenclick on the red Remove button next to it

Google Connected Apps

A lot of times, you might not even realize that you’re giving an app access to your Google account. But if you use a lot of third-party apps, it’s important to be aware of how these apps can access your data.

  1. Use the correct spelling of the word.
  2. Use proper grammar when using words such as “you,” “they,” and “your.”
  3. Avoid using contractions or slang when referring to people or things.
  4. Be accurate when reporting on events and developments.

Remove Third Party Access

To monitor and remove Google connected apps, sign in with your Google Account using a web browser. ..

In the My Account screen, you’ll see your name, email address, and other account information.

This My Account page includes several modules such as security, privacy, and preferences; it is well worth reviewing, especially the Security Checkup wizard.

Looking down along the left under Sign-in & Security, select Apps with account access.

To get a list of all the apps on your account, click on the “Manage Apps” link on the Apps with account access page. This will show you a list of all the apps that are connected to your account. ..

Google groups the connected apps, displaying first the 3rd party apps that have access to your account. Below these 3rd party apps, you’ll see a list of Google-trusted apps that have access. ..

-The App Store has a list of apps that are unfamiliar or that you no longer use. -Click on an app to see its details, including when it was authorized and what level of access it has. -To remove it, click on Remove Access.

Google then removes the apps access to your account and removes it from the list. If you have not granted access before, you will need to do so now in order to use the apps again.

If you no longer use the app, remove it from your device. If you need to use the app again, you’ll need to authorize it again. ..

Facebook Connected Apps

Many websites require users to sign in using their Facebook account. Additionally, if you have used many popular shared games and quizzes on Facebook, these apps also access your personal information. Facebook is prominent in the news right now because of how this data is being misused. In response, Facebook may soon be simplifying the privacy settings. But for now, here is the current, not so easy way to check and remove these Facebook connected apps. ..

In Facebook’s Settings screen, pull down the toggle/arrow at the right top of the Facebook screen. This will expose your Facebook account and other features. Near the bottom of this list, choose Accounts.

On the Apps and Websites page, you can manage which apps and websites are allowed to access your Facebook account. You can also set up passwords for these apps and websites. ..

The next page shows the Facebook applications that have been given account access, via the ways discussed above. These range from fun apps like Words with Friends to automating integrations like If This Then That (IFTTT), and productivity apps like Hootsuite.

If you want to keep the app, but remove some of its features, you can do so by checking the box to the right and selecting Remove some features. ..

If you remove one or more apps from your Facebook account, you’ll see a new dialog box. Here, you can choose to have Facebook delete any posts that were made using the app. For example, if you use IFTTT to automatically post to Facebook any entries posted on Blogger, you may want the posts deleted even if they were made using an app other than Facebook. ..

Some other important notes here. Once removed, the app or website will no longer have access to your information, but they may still retain previously shared information. If the app or website has your email address, you may certainly unsubscribe to stop future emails, but it will be necessary to contact the app or website developers directly to ask what if any information of yours they continue to maintain.

Facebook makes it easy for users to contact app developers, by selecting “Report/Contact” in the bottom right when you click on the app. This will allow you to easily contact the developers if you are concerned about the app.

Edit Facebook App Privacy Settings

Facebook allows users to specify the exposure that each connected app is allowed. So even after removing apps entirely, consider visiting and changing the privacy settings for each app that remains. Here’s how:

For one of the apps, click on Edit and then View.

Facebook App visibility is determined by who on Facebook will be able to see that you use the app. You can pick from Public, Friends, Friends except acquaintances, Only Me or Custom.

Be sure to check the personal information that is provided to the app. This can include your public profile, list of Facebook friends, birthday, hometown, and email address. Most of the time, there is no need for the app to access your pages or manage your business. ..

Remove all of the Facebook connected apps. This will stop you from seeing this app or website in your connected apps list.

Thank you for bringing some small level of privacy control to the continuing privacy battles we all face when using social media sites. Please let us know of any comments or questions. Enjoy!