The Connected Apps Platform allows you to make your Connected Apps available on our Connected Apps Registry. Connected Apps are apps that extend the capabilities of Google's generative AI products or services that are registered in our Connected Apps Registry. A Connected App may be enabled using the technical integration method(s) or interface(s) described in our documentation, such as model context protocol (MCP) servers and Android MCP implemented via AppFunctions.
The policies listed below apply to you and any Connected Apps you choose to register with our platform. As a Connected App developer, you play an important role in maintaining a positive experience for everyone using Google products. We need to curb abuses that threaten our ability to provide these services, and we require that developers abide by the policies below to help us achieve this goal. If a policy violation has been identified, we will take action, including rejecting the Connected App at submission, suspending the Connected App, removing the Connected App from our platform, or suspending and/or terminating your developer account.
Check back from time to time as these policies are occasionally updated. It is your responsibility to monitor and ensure your compliance with these policies on a regular basis. If, at any time, you cannot meet the requirements of our policies (or if there is a significant risk that you will not be able to meet them), stop using our services and reach out to us.
Connected App quality
Connected App quality is important for both users and developers. High-quality Connected Apps deliver value to users and are designed for safety. A high-quality Connected App is one that is free of bugs, crashes, and other technical issues; transparent to the user; and provides a safe and high-value user experience.
Connected Apps must
- perform as described without causing model confusion or task failure.
- deliver tangible functionality and be reliable enough to handle valid requests without crashing or hanging.
- provide a stable, responsive, and engaging user experience.
Connected Apps must not
- spam users or the Connected App Platform. This includes Connected Apps that send users unsolicited messages or Connected Apps that are repetitive or low-quality.
- copy content from other Connected Apps without adding any original content or value.
- create multiple Connected Apps with highly similar functionality, content and user experience.
Advertising
Connected App partners must not serve any third party advertising content or promotional material through their integrations. This does not prohibit the inclusion of your own brand elements. Connected Apps and their tools must offer direct, meaningful utility and deliver distinct, standalone value that is completely free of any advertising content.
Deceptive behavior
To ensure a safe ecosystem, our standards strictly align with the core principles of the Google Unwanted Software Policy. Google strictly prohibits all forms of deception. Your Connected App must always maintain honesty and transparency, and must never mislead users or enable dishonest behavior.
Connected Apps must
- provide an honest, accurate description and, where applicable, a visual representation of their core utility and features across all parts of the Connected App and its metadata.
- provide an honest, accurate description of the directory, tools, and permissions; for example, comply with industry naming standards or required naming conventions in relevant specifications.
- define each capability or tool using distinct, unambiguous language.
- operate exactly as described and as a user would reasonably expect.
Connected Apps must not
- enable unlisted functionalities, perform unsolicited actions, cause unexpected side effects, or state features that are missing or incomplete.
- facilitate or provide tools that allow users to deceive others; for example, features designed to generate or spoof official records, identification cards, academic credentials, or financial documents are forbidden.
- contain false or misleading information or claims, including in the description, title, and icon.
- make changes to the user's device settings or features without the user's knowledge and consent.
- modify any device settings or features, if done as a service to third parties or for advertising purposes.
- mislead users into removing or disabling third-party apps or modifying device settings or features.
- promote, create, or perpetuate false or misleading information through deceptively altered imagery, audio, text, or video.
- deceive or influence the model into performing an adverse action or behavior; for example, using overly broad or deceptive capability descriptions to influence the model into selecting the Connected App over another Connected App.
- reference other tools or create new rules for when or how other tools should be used.
- return system instructions through app responses. All instructions must be available during ingestion time.
- contain hidden, dormant, or undocumented features.
- use evasion techniques, like cloaking or obfuscation to conceal Connected App behavior or evade the platform's review process.
Impersonation and misrepresentation policy
To protect users and ensure that they can trust a developer's true identity and the Connected App's purpose, Google prohibits developer accounts and Connected Apps from misrepresenting or concealing their ownership, or primary purpose, or faking their country of origin to target users. This policy also strictly forbids coordinating with other Connected Apps, sites or accounts to mislead users by hiding a Connected App's true identity or other material details, especially when the content involves politics, social issues or matters of public concern.
Connected Apps and developers must not
- impersonate any person or organization.
- misrepresent or conceal their identity, ownership, primary purpose, or country of origin.
- misrepresent a Connected App's functionality or claim capabilities that are technically impossible.
- mislead users about a Connected App's relationship to someone else or another Connected App.
- engage in coordinated activity with other accounts or sites to mislead users or conceal identity, particularly when Connected App content relates to politics, social issues, or matters of public concern.
- wrap or repackage third-party APIs that the developer does not directly own,
manage, or hold explicit proprietary rights to. The creation of wrapper
applications, alternative clients, or feature extensions that rely primarily
on a pass-through of another platform's APIs is strictly prohibited.
- Note: This does not prohibit applications from utilizing third-party APIs for supporting functions (such as sending email notifications or authenticating users) as part of a larger proprietary service.
Privacy
We are dedicated to safeguarding user privacy and expect all Connected Apps to uphold the same high standards. Connected Apps must handle any collected user data transparently and responsibly.
User data
Data minimization
Connected Apps must exchange the minimum data necessary to implement the Connected App's current, active features. When defining tool schemas, parameters, or required inputs, developers must restrict the scope to only what is strictly required to execute the described functionality of the tool as submitted to the Platform. Data cannot be used for undisclosed, unimplemented, or disallowed features or purposes. Connected Apps that rely on permissions must request the minimum permissions necessary for the Connected App to implement its active features.
Transparent and accurate notice and control
You must be transparent about the data you access, collect, use, store, and share as part of your Connected App. You need to maintain a privacy policy that discloses how the Connected App accesses, collects, uses, stores, and shares user data. Connected Apps must strictly adhere to their published policy at all times and must never misrepresent what data is being collected or what it is used for.
Additionally, you must provide user help documentation that explains how users can manage and delete their data from your app or service.
Limited use of user data
Limit your use of user data to only the purposes you have disclosed to the user. User data may not be exchanged or shared for monetary consideration. You must at all times comply with privacy and data protection laws applicable in the jurisdictions in which you offer your products or services.
Security and abuse
We're committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our users. Connected Apps that are insecure, or are intended to abuse or misuse any network, device, or personal data are strictly prohibited.
Secure data handling
Developers must implement commercially reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to secure user data. This includes using industry-accepted modern protocols and encryption standards to protect user data both at rest and in transit.
Connected Apps must
- handle all user data securely, including transmitting it using modern cryptography (for example, over HTTPS).
- ensure keys and key material are managed appropriately, such as stored in a hardware security module or equivalent-strength key management system.
- keep user data and credentials encrypted at rest.
Device and network abuse
We don't allow Connected Apps that interfere with, disrupt, damage or access in an unauthorised manner the user's device, other devices or computers, servers, networks, application programming interfaces (APIs) or services, including but not limited to other apps, Connected Apps, any Google service or an authorised operator network. Protecting the integrity of the user's device and the broader ecosystem is paramount.
Connected Apps must not
- obtain unauthorized access or interfere with the user's device, other devices, network, API, or service, other apps or Connected Apps, any Google service, or an authorized operator network.
- introduce or exploit security vulnerabilities.
- access or use of any service or API in a manner that violates its terms of service.
- facilitate the distribution of malicious software.
Malware
Our malware policy is simple: the Connected App ecosystem including the Connected Apps Platform and user devices should be free from malicious behaviors. Through this fundamental principle we strive to provide a safe ecosystem for our users and their devices. Malware is any code or instruction that could put a user, a user's data or a device at risk.
Connected Apps must not
- perform any action that could put a user's data, device or that user at risk.
- display any behavior that is malicious, compromises device integrity, gains unauthorized control, collects or transmits data without disclosure and consent, disseminates spam, or defrauds users.
- enable remote-controlled operations for an attacker to access, use or otherwise exploit an infected device.
- contain hidden code or instructions that perform actions different from the stated purpose.
- manipulate the model into revealing sensitive system instructions, sensitive user data, or bypassing its own safety protocols.
- escalate privileges or circumvent security, privacy, safety and abuse protections.
Restricted and prohibited content
To ensure that the Connected Apps Platform experience remains a safe and respectful platform, we've created standards defining and prohibiting content that is harmful or inappropriate for our users.
User generated content: Any Connected App that hosts user generated content must deploy robust, continuous moderation frameworks. Connected Apps must moderate their platforms for content that could be harmful to users and to AI agents. Additionally, Connected Apps must maintain a mandatory Terms of Service prohibiting objectionable content, and the provision of intuitive, in-app mechanisms for users to report and block malicious content or abusive actors.
Child sexual exploitation and abuse: Connected Apps must not contain any content that facilitates, depicts, or promotes Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), grooming, sextortion, child trafficking, or any form of predatory behavior targeting minors.
Sexually explicit content: Connected Apps must not contain pornography, sexually explicit media, or services intended for sexual gratification. This includes the prohibition of non-consensual intimate imagery (including AI-generated deepfakes).
Hate speech: Connected Apps must not contain content that promotes violence, incites hatred, or discriminates against individuals or groups based on protected characteristics—including race, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity.
Violent extremism: Connected Apps must not contain content related to violent extremism, or content related to planning, preparing, or glorifying violence against civilians, such as content that promotes terrorist acts, incites violence, or celebrates terrorist attacks. We do not permit terrorist organizations, or other dangerous organizations or movements that have engaged in, prepared for, or claimed responsibility for acts of violence against civilians to publish apps on the Connected Apps Platform for any purpose.
Sensitive events: We don't allow Connected Apps that capitalize on or are insensitive toward a sensitive event with significant social, cultural, or political impact, such as civil emergencies, natural disasters, public health emergencies, conflicts, deaths, or other tragic events.
Violence: Connected Apps must not contain content that depict or facilitate sensational, shocking, or gratuitous violence.
Intellectual property: We don't allow Connected Apps or developer accounts that infringe on the intellectual property rights of others (including trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret and other proprietary rights). We also don't allow Connected Apps that encourage, induce, or facilitate the unauthorized generation of copyrighted material.
Prohibited goods, services, and functionality
Illegal activities: We don't allow Connected Apps that facilitate or promote illegal activities.
Age restricted goods & services: Connected Apps selling age restricted goods (e.g., alcohol, tobacco) or that allow age-restricted activities (i.e. real-money gaming and gambling) must maintain age-gating and verification procedures.
Dangerous products: We prohibit Connected Apps that facilitate the sale of explosives, firearms, ammunition, or certain firearms accessories.
- Restricted accessories include those that enable a firearm to simulate automatic fire or convert a firearm to automatic fire (for example, bump stocks, gatling triggers, drop-in auto sears, conversion kits), and magazines or belts carrying more than 30 rounds.
- We don't allow apps that provide instructions for the manufacture of explosives, firearms, ammunition, restricted firearm accessories, or other weapons. This includes instructions on how to convert a firearm to automatic, or simulated automatic, firing capabilities.