Google has disabled the option to allow less secure apps to access Gmail accounts as of May 2022 for personal accounts and by September 30, 2024, for Google Workspace accounts. This means it is no longer possible to enable less secure app access on Gmail accounts through settings. Instead of allowing less secure apps, Google now requires users to use more secure methods such as:
- Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) on the Google account.
- Creating and using an app password, which is a unique 16-character password for apps that do not support modern security protocols like OAuth 2.0.
- Using apps that support OAuth 2.0 sign-in, which is the modern and secure standard for accessing Google accounts.
If an app does not support OAuth 2.0, the recommended solution is to enable 2FA on the account and generate an app password to use in place of the usual Google password. There is no way to re-enable less secure app access as Google has permanently removed this option to enhance account security. For Google Workspace administrators, access to less secure apps has also been disabled, and all apps must comply with the newer security standards. In summary, "allow less secure apps" is no longer an available option in Gmail. Users and admins must switch to using app passwords with 2FA or OAuth 2.0 compliant apps for continued access to their accounts by third-party or older applications.
