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To connect an app safely, open ChatGPT’s app or plugin directory from Settings, select the app, review what it can do and which provider account it will use, authorize only the requested services, and test it with a low-risk task. Treat that approval as the start of the security review—not as proof that the app has limited access. The connected provider account, its existing permissions, workspace policies, and ChatGPT’s data-use settings determine what information or actions are actually available.
Names and locations change by plan, region, model, workspace role, and ChatGPT surface. OpenAI’s Apps in ChatGPT guidance says the app directory moved to the Plugin directory on July 9, 2026; your account may still show different labels. Use the controls visible in your account rather than following an outdated screenshot.
What connecting an app actually does
An app connection lets ChatGPT use information from an external service—such as a cloud drive or team messaging system—or perform supported actions there. A plugin can package that workflow and may include apps, skills, or app templates. Some plugins contain only skills and do not connect to an outside account.
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- ChatGPT app or plugin: the capabilities and actions the developer made available.
- Provider authorization: the services and scopes you approve at the external provider.
- Connected account: the files, messages, records, or other resources that account can already reach.
- Workspace controls: administrator enablement, role assignments, domain restrictions, and other organization policies.
- ChatGPT data settings: memory, model-improvement preferences, and plan-specific handling of information accessed through apps.
A safe setup checks each layer separately.
Quick connection procedure
- Confirm availability. Check that the app is offered for your plan, region, workspace, role, model, and current ChatGPT surface. A missing app can indicate a phased rollout, plan eligibility, or an administrator policy rather than a setup error.
- Open the directory. In ChatGPT, go to Settings > Plugins and select the app or plugin that includes the service. Your interface may call this an app directory, Plugin directory, or connected apps area.
- Read the listing. Check the included apps, supported capabilities, setup requirements, terms of service, and privacy policy. An OpenAI Verified badge describes a status in the directory; it does not replace your organization’s vendor, privacy, or security review.
- Choose the intended provider account. Select the account that already has access to the specific information you need. A personal account does not inherit files or records held only by a work account.
- Review authorization scopes. Before accepting the provider prompt, inspect the requested services and permissions. Confirm whether the app can read, create, edit, send, delete, or otherwise act on data.
- Complete authorization. Sign in at the provider, approve the requested scopes, and return to ChatGPT. Provider authorization cannot override workspace restrictions or grant access that the connected account does not possess.
- Run a low-risk test. Invoke the app in a supported conversation with a harmless request, such as finding a non-sensitive document you already expect it to see. Review any confirmation prompt before allowing a read or action.
- Record the connection. For work use, note which account was connected, what scopes were approved, and who owns the connection. This makes later review and removal easier.
Check availability before you authorize anything
Personal accounts
Consumer accounts may see different apps and controls depending on plan, country or region, rollout status, selected model, and the ChatGPT surface you are using. If an app is absent, first verify that you are signed into the intended account and using the current web or desktop interface. Do not install an unofficial substitute merely because the expected listing is unavailable.
Workspaces
Business, Enterprise, and Edu workspaces can require an administrator to enable an app and assign role access. A user may be able to find a listing but still be unable to connect it. Ask the administrator to confirm whether the app is enabled for your role and whether organization policy permits the provider account or data type involved.
Account-domain restrictions
Enterprise organizations can request supported account-domain restrictions. Such a restriction governs eligible accounts; it does not automatically disconnect connections that already exist. Existing connections must be reviewed and removed separately when necessary.
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How to evaluate an app listing
Capabilities and action type
Separate read access from write or modify access. Reading a document is a different risk from editing it, sending a message, changing a record, or deleting content. Listings may describe supported actions in broad terms, so inspect the provider’s authorization screen as well.
Terms, privacy, and vendor identity
Data shared with an app is handled under that app’s terms of service and privacy policy. Read those documents before enabling the connection, especially if conversations may contain customer information, source code, health details, financial records, or confidential business material.
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Determine whether the connector is first-party, verified in ChatGPT, supplied by a known vendor, or a custom app maintained by your organization. “Verified” is not a guarantee that the app is suitable for your particular data or workflow.
Setup requirements
Look for required provider plans, administrator approval, account type, supported models, or workspace settings. If the listing requires a permission your organization does not allow, stop rather than attempting to work around the restriction.
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What app permission prompts do—and do not—control
ChatGPT’s app permission controls govern when ChatGPT asks you to confirm before reading information or taking an action. They do not grant an app new access, and changing them does not revoke access that was already authorized.
The practical distinction is:
| Control | What it affects | What it does not affect |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT permission or confirmation setting | Whether ChatGPT asks before a supported read or action | The provider scopes already granted, the account’s existing access, or workspace policy |
| Provider authorization | Which services and scopes the external app may use | Resources the account itself cannot access, or restrictions enforced by ChatGPT’s workspace |
| Connected account permissions | Which files, messages, records, or actions are available to the app through that account | Capabilities the app does not implement |
| Workspace administrator controls | Whether the app is enabled, which roles may use it, and supported organization restrictions | Automatic removal of connections already authorized by users |
| Disconnect or disable action | Removal of the app connection, either for a user or the workspace | Deletion of data that may already have been copied or handled under the provider’s terms |
If your goal is to remove access, disconnect the app in settings or ask the workspace administrator to disable it. Merely requiring more approval prompts is not a revocation.
Data, memory, and model-improvement settings
Conversation context and memory
An enabled app may receive relevant context from the ChatGPT conversation to fulfill your request. If Memory is enabled, relevant memory context may also be used, subject to the app and source restrictions shown in your account. Avoid placing secrets or unrelated personal information in a prompt sent to a connected workflow.
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Basic information shared with apps
Apps may receive information typically shared when visiting a website, including your IP address, device or browser type, language and region settings, and approximate location. Check the app’s privacy policy for its own retention, processing, and disclosure practices.
Training treatment by plan
OpenAI’s documented treatment differs by plan and setting:
| ChatGPT plan category | How information accessed from apps is treated | Important condition |
|---|---|---|
| Free, Plus, Go, and Pro | OpenAI may use information accessed from apps to train models | This can occur when Improve the model for everyone is turned on |
| Business, Enterprise, and Edu | Information accessed from connectors is not used for training by default | Review your organization’s current settings and policy; “by default” is not a substitute for that review |
Before connecting sensitive data, check the model-improvement setting in your account and any workspace policy that controls it. Do not infer consumer treatment from a business workspace, or vice versa.
Google and other provider accounts
Google app access remains subject to Google account permissions and applicable workspace settings. Connecting a Google app does not automatically create a personal synced index. The account you select and the permissions it already has determine which content is eligible for the connection.
The same principle applies to other providers: choose the account that owns the intended data, and verify that its existing role does not expose more information than the task requires. If you accidentally choose a broad administrator account, disconnect and reconnect with a least-privileged account where the provider supports one.
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Custom connectors and third-party MCP apps extend the trust boundary beyond the built-in directory. OpenAI warns that unsafe or untrusted MCP servers can increase risks, including prompt injection. A malicious instruction embedded in retrieved content could try to persuade the model to disclose information or perform an unintended action.
Organization review before enablement
- Identify who operates the server and where it runs.
- Inspect the code, deployment, update process, logging, and data-retention practices when available.
- List every provider scope and tool exposed, not just the business purpose in the listing.
- Test with synthetic or non-sensitive data before production use.
- Limit access to the roles and accounts that need it.
- Define how the connector will be disabled and how existing credentials will be revoked.
OpenAI’s Developer mode and MCP apps guidance states: “You are responsible for verifying that any app and connector is appropriate for your organization, including apps and connectors you develop, or third party apps and connectors you upload.” Treat that responsibility as a vendor review obligation, not a checkbox.
Write-action confirmations
ChatGPT may request confirmation for write or modify actions depending on permissions, context, and potential impact. Some risky actions may be blocked. Do not assume a confirmation will always appear; design workflows so that a human reviews consequential changes in the provider itself.
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Use the same questions for every candidate instead of relying on a badge or a familiar name.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Directory app with provider authorization | Determined by the selected provider account and approved scopes | Read-only or write actions vary by app | Listing, provider prompt, terms, privacy policy, and vendor status | Admin enablement and role access may be required |
| Plugin containing skills only | No external account connection unless separately stated | Depends on the skill’s behavior; no provider action is implied | Skill description, data handling, and any services it invokes | Workspace policy and model availability still apply |
| Custom or third-party MCP app | Defined by the server, tools, and credentials configured by the organization | Potentially high, including write operations and prompt-injection exposure | Operator, code, hosting, scopes, logging, retention, and update controls | Organization is responsible for approval and ongoing monitoring |
Safer operating practices after connection
Use a least-privilege account
When a provider offers separate roles or accounts, connect the one that can perform the task without broad administrative access. Do not connect a personal account to retrieve work records or a global administrator account for a simple lookup.
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Keep tasks narrowly scoped
State exactly what the app should retrieve or change. Avoid pasting unrelated confidential material into the same conversation. For actions that affect other people, name the target, intended change, and boundary explicitly, then inspect the confirmation screen.
Review retrieved content for instructions
Documents, messages, web pages, and records can contain text that is relevant to the task but untrusted as instructions. Treat embedded requests to reveal secrets, change permissions, or contact an external party as suspicious. Confirm the action through the provider’s normal interface.
Audit periodically
At a regular interval, list connected apps, the provider account behind each one, approved scopes, workspace roles, and the last time each connection was needed. Remove dormant connections rather than leaving them available indefinitely.
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The app does not appear
- Verify the signed-in ChatGPT account, plan, region, selected model, and surface.
- Ask whether a rollout or directory change is in progress.
- For a work account, ask the administrator whether the app is enabled for your role.
- Check whether the app was moved between an app area and the Plugin directory.
Authorization succeeds but expected files or records are missing
- Confirm that you selected the account that owns the content.
- Check the provider’s own sharing, group, and workspace permissions.
- Verify that the requested scope covers the service and resource type.
- Ask the workspace administrator whether organization policy filters the account or source.
- Do not assume that a normal connection creates a personal synchronized index.
ChatGPT asks for confirmation too often—or not at all
Confirmation behavior varies by app, action, context, and workspace control. Permission prompts regulate approval timing; they do not change the underlying provider authorization. For a consequential action, open the provider directly and verify the result.
A custom connector behaves unexpectedly
- Stop sending sensitive data and disable the connector.
- Preserve the relevant error, tool call, and server version for the administrator.
- Review server logs and credentials for unauthorized access.
- Re-enable only after the organization’s owner has completed a security review.
How to disconnect an app
- Open ChatGPT settings and locate the connected app, plugin, or connector list. The label and location may differ across interfaces.
- Select the app and choose the available disconnect, remove, or revoke option.
- If you use an organization workspace and cannot remove it yourself, ask the administrator to disable the app or revoke the organization’s connection.
- At the provider, review authorized applications and revoke the corresponding token or permission when the provider offers that control.
- Remove stored credentials or secrets used by a custom MCP server, and rotate them if you suspect exposure.
- Confirm that future requests no longer reach the service before treating the connection as closed.
Disconnecting prevents the connection from continuing to operate; it does not necessarily erase information already processed under the app’s terms or the provider’s retention rules. Consult those policies for deletion procedures.
Quick Recap
Connection checklist
- Is the app available for this plan, region, workspace, role, model, and surface?
- Have you read the app’s capabilities, terms, and privacy policy?
- Did you choose the provider account that owns the intended data?
- Did you inspect every requested service and scope?
- Is the app read-only, or can it write, modify, send, or delete?
- Has a workspace administrator approved it for the necessary roles?
- Could conversation context or Memory expose more information than the task needs?
- For consumer plans, is Improve the model for everyone configured as you intend?
- For Business, Enterprise, or Edu, have you confirmed the organization’s current connector policy?
- For a custom or third-party MCP app, has someone verified the server, code, hosting, logging, retention, and prompt-injection risk?
- Do you know how to disconnect the app and revoke provider credentials?
