How to Control Access to Less Secure Apps on the Google Workspace Admin Level

Quick and easy-to-follow guide for Google Workspace administrators

You can disable access to less secure apps through your Admin console settings, or you can allow users to control this setting on their own.

What are less secure apps

If you are not sure which apps are less secure, you should read this article first.

When to restrict access to less secure apps

When you want to ensure your Google Workspace users’ accounts are as secure as possible.

How to control Google Workspace users’ access to less secure apps step-by-step with images

Step 1

Go to the Admin console https://admin.google.com and click Security.

Step 2

Select Less secure apps.

Step 3

On the left, under Organizational Units, select the OU containing the users for which you want to configure the setting. All sub-OUs nested under the OU you choose will have the same setting applied to them.

By default, if you don’t select an OU, you will add your setting to the top OU, named after your domain. By applying a setting to the top-level OU, you apply it to all users in the account.

You can also search for an OU to find it faster if you have a large OU structure.

If you are not familiar with OUs, click here.

Step 4

Selecting Disable access to less secure apps prevents users from granting access to some third-party apps.

Allow users to manage their access allows users to turn it on/off on their own by going to https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps as shown here.

After you click SAVE, changes may take up to 24 hours to take effect.