Manage third-party app control of smart home devices

Google Home allows you to connect your home to third-party apps so you have more ways to control and automate your smart home devices. You can view, modify, or remove third-party app access at any time for any of the homes where you’re a manager.

You can grant third-party apps access to device types, and for sensitive devices you can grant or deny access to individual devices.

Third-party apps can create, schedule, and delete automations for the devices you grant them access to. If you or someone in your home later removes a third-party app’s access to devices or the home, automations created by that third-party app will no longer run as expected.

Set up third-party app permissions

If you want to control a device linked to your Google Account with a third-party app, you’ll need to provide permission.

To learn more about what data is captured for each Google Nest device type, visit the Safety Center. Devices from other manufacturers linked through third-party apps may have additional controls. Check the device manufacturer’s documentation for more information.

To grant permission to a third-party app:

1. Open the third-party app and when prompted, log in to your Google Account. Some third-party apps may require you to manually grant permissions. Check their help documentation for more information.
2. Based on how the third-party app initiates the request for permission, you may find a pop-up banner. Tap the banner 👁 and then
   choose the Google Account you wish to link with the third-party app.
3. A consent screen requesting access to the home and devices will appear:
   • If you have multiple homes, you’ll need to choose which home you wish to manage.
   • To let the third-party app access the devices in the types they’ve registered for in your home, tap Allow. In this case, the app will also auto-link with future devices in the requested types connected to your home.
   • To view and manage access to specific device types, tap Gear 👁 Image
     . For each type, tap the switch to turn linking on or off 👁 Image
     👁 and then
     return to the consent screen 👁 and then
     tap Allow. In this case, the app will auto-link only with future devices in the types with linking turned on.
   • Sensitive devices only:
     • Tap on a sensitive device type’s switch to manage all devices within that type 👁 and then
       return to the consent screen 👁 and then
       tap Allow. In this case, if you switch the locks type off, future locks won't be linked.
     • To limit access to specific devices, tap on Gear 👁 Image
       👁 and then
       tap a sensitive device type to display a list of devices 👁 and then
       turn the switch on or off 👁 Image
       for each specific device 👁 and then
       return to the consent screen 👁 and then
       tap Allow. In this case, if linking is turned off for at least one device in a type, the app won’t auto-link future devices for that type.
     • To turn auto-link back on, you need to share all devices in that type.

To learn more about sensitive device types, go to Data security and privacy on linked third-party apps.

Manage third-party app permissions

After you’ve allowed access to third-party apps, you can manage those permissions later in the Google Home app 👁 Google Home app
or My Account. You can also manage permissions set up by other home managers in the Google Home app 👁 Google Home app

Google Home app 👁 Google Home app
:

Linked apps page

• Check all third-party apps that are linked to your home.
• Manage devices linked to third-party apps.
• Manage or remove a household member’s access to a third-party app.
• Manage or remove a specific controller access to a third-party app, say in the case you had the app installed on a phone you no longer have in your possession.

Automations page

• Check all automations created by third-party apps. To check, tap Automations 👁 Image
  at the bottom of the screen.

The Google Home app provides the most control of your home experience.

My Account:

Monitor and manage third-party apps you’ve linked with your Google Account.

Go to Data security and privacy on linked third-party apps to learn more about what data is collected when you grant permission to third-party apps.

Troubleshoot third-party app permissions

• The third-party app doesn’t show any Google Home devices
  • Check that you’ve granted permission to the third-party app when prompted to do so. Check with the app developer on how to grant these permissions again if you’ve removed or denied them.
• The third-party app doesn’t show a specific type of Google Home device
  • If you can’t find a specific type of device and other device types show, check that you’ve granted permission for the third-party app to access the missing device type. Learn how to manage permissions for device types.

Related resource

• Data security and privacy on linked third-party apps