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I had my email signed in on the Gmail app on my boyfriend's phone who is now on the other side of the country. I've asked him a couple times to disconnect it but recently checked out Google Play and there's a bunch of new apps connected to my account. (I don't have a smart phone.) Is there a way to disconnect it remotely without access to his phone?

Second, I've recently been flooded with spam mail, which is unusual for me. Could this be because of that connection?

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    should activate 2-step authentication on your account, and ensure that the verification code is always sent to your phone via SMS. The gmail service should fail automatically on his phone then.
    – t0mm13b
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 13:27
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    If you ever get stalking urges (or just want to be horrified at how much data smartphones "leak"), just have a look at your own location history...
    – Basic
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 23:00
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    @Basic What has stalking got to do with your own location history, unless you're stalking yourself?
    – t0mm13b
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 23:03
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    @t0mm13b Well... If your google account is tied to someone else's phone (As per the OP's question) then it applies. That said, I'd hope most people realise I was being tongue-in-cheek.
    – Basic
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 23:06
  • Update: There's one new application associated with my account. My old email that I signed into on his phone once or twice (through a web browser, not the app) has had sign ins in ontario, bc and alberta. I've changed the password on that multiple times as well. his entire email account was just recently deleted. I'm guessing it's more a breach of security on his phone. Other than destroying his phone and setting up two step verification (I don't have a phone at the moment) I've done everything suggested. Guess I'll wait and see if my email has the same fate as his?
    – jordan
    Commented Feb 3, 2014 at 1:34

6 Answers 6

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Go to:

https://accounts.google.com/b/0/EditPasswd

and change your password, then go to:

https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions

and revoke access to everything.

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    Looking at the permissions site, you might be able to just revoke the permissions from your phone without needing to change your password. I'd advise doing both anyway just to be sure though.
    – bmdixon
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 10:05
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    @bmdixon I assume the password changing, is so that he can not just log back in again. Else it would render the second part useless.
    – IAmGroot
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 14:22
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    Also it wouldn't be a bad idea to add two step verification to your account. Once you have that setup you can add and remove phones to your account.
    – Danny
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 16:12
  • In a comment to @geffchang's answer, she states she has already changed password and it didn't work, so she definitely has to removed the linked apps.
    – o0'.
    Commented Jan 29, 2014 at 14:10
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    The second step is the key: apps use authentication and session tokens, not password, to authenticate. This include google apps (gmail, hangouts and of course play). You have to revoke the token, so the app cannot access your data and behave on your behalf anymore.
    – Lorenzo Dematté
    Commented Jan 29, 2014 at 14:49
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If Android Device Manager was enabled, and you HATE your ex, you can Lock and/or Erase that phone. Refer to the official guide for more details.

  • Lock. Lock your device with a new password.
  • Erase. Permanently delete all of your data.

Of course, as others suggested, changing your password is sufficient.

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    Yikes! That would be some strong hate. I changed my password the day we split (just changed it again now anyways). The apps associated are obviously new and completely useless to me, Toronto transit apps where he moved, I stayed in BC. Probably something simple I'm missing? I've been away from computers/internet for over a year. A lot has changed.
    – jordan
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 11:15
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    This is not the kind of behaviour to advocate on SE. It's also likely illegal, depending on laws where you live, and could end up at the very least with a civil suit if not criminal charges. Do not do this.
    – Bob
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 15:26
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    @Bob: We are not to decide. It is an answer, and it is valid. If the guy is an a-hole enough to keep the account logged in even after getting asked several times not to do so... I think it's a well-deserved counter-step. But again, we are not to judge. If someone writes a fork-bomb on Stackoverflow, people won't ban him because it could be used for malicious things.
    – Apache
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 16:30
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    @Shiki I don't mind the answer (though it's not really necessary/correct for this question) - my problem is with the tone of the answer. There's some difference between "this is a fork-bomb" and "if you really hate this person and want revenge, you should set off a fork-bomb on his computer!". Don't bring emotions in where they are not needed.
    – Bob
    Commented Jan 29, 2014 at 0:50
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    @dspyz I think it could be considered hacking. After all, it's not her phone.
    – geffchang
    Commented Jan 29, 2014 at 7:03
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Login to Gmail on a browser. At the end of the page, in the bottom right-hand corner, you have a small hyperlink to see the sessions where your account is being used called "Details". Click that link, and then click on the "Sign Out" for all the sessions. Voila! All of your logged in sessions (except the current browser login) will be logged out.

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    This is the best way to solve the question in the title. The OP is unclear as to whether the boyfriend has the password and how he is buying apps with her account.
    – jfa
    Commented Jan 29, 2014 at 0:47
  • he doesn't have my password, I accidentally left my email signed in through gmails application when we split ways. As far as I've seen, email sessions logged in through the application don't show up under your account activity. I don't have access to a phone to verify that right now though.
    – jordan
    Commented Feb 3, 2014 at 1:16
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I also recommend going to the account security activity : https://security.google.com/settings/security/activity
It will show you when and where your account is used.
For example : if you boyfriend is loggued on some other device

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  • Interesting tip! Might not help the asker though since it shows log in events, while the problem is knowing if the person stays logged in. But it's certainly worth a look.
    – user56reinstatemonica8
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 17:52
  • I've never seen activity for gmail app sign ins, even when I was using his phone regularly.
    – jordan
    Commented Feb 3, 2014 at 1:18
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Change your password. That will log out everywhere else and prevent people installing apps on your account.

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You could just change your Google password? That way when his phone does the regular check, authentication will fail and the phone will effectively be cut off from your account.

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    Changing your password is not enough. Many apps don't use your password after the first login. When you have authenticated for the first time a special authorization token just for that application is stored in your Google account, and used by the phone.
    – Zoredache
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 22:00
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    We're talking about the Google password though, the main account of the device, iirc it does poll the Google servers to authenticate the password regularly..
    – Le3ky
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 22:06
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    @Le3ky Nope not even vaguely regularly. When I changed my google password, an old phone of mine kept working for over a year before its auth tokens expired and it finally got around to asking for a password.
    – Mark Booth
    Commented Feb 1, 2014 at 12:34

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