If an app or device doesn’t meet our security standards, Google will block anyone who tries to sign in from that app or device. Because these apps and devices are easier to break into, blocking them helps keep your account safe.

Some examples of apps that do not support the latest security standards include:

• The Mail app on your iPhone or iPad with version 6 or below
• The Mail app on your Windows phone preceding the 8.1 release
• Some Desktop mail clients like Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird

Change account access for less secure apps

To help keep Google Accounts through work, school, or other groups more secure, we block some less secure apps from using them. If you have this kind of account, you’ll see a “Password incorrect” error when trying to sign in. If so, you have two options:

• Option 1: Install a more secure app that uses stronger security measures. All Google products, like Gmail, use the latest security measures.
• Option 2: Change your settings to allow less secure apps into your account. We don’t recommend this option because it can make it easier for someone to break into your account. If you want to allow access anyway, follow these steps:
  1. Go to the Less secure apps section of your Google Account.
  2. Turn on Allow less secure apps. If you don’t see this setting, your administrator might have turned off less secure app account access.

If you still can’t sign in to your account, learn more about the “password incorrect” error.