---
title: "Using your own sign-in credentials for an account"
url: https://storagestudio.us/wiki/using-your-own-app-credentials
category: "Cloud accounts"
tags: ["cloud accounts", "google drive", "sign in"]
summary: "If Google shows \"This app is blocked\" when you connect Google Drive, you can create your own free sign-in credentials in Google Cloud and paste them into Add Account. An in-app guide walks you through it."
updated: 2026-10-01T05:32:16.000Z
---

# Using your own sign-in credentials for an account

If Google shows "This app is blocked" when you connect Google Drive, you can create your own free sign-in credentials in Google Cloud and paste them into Add Account. An in-app guide walks you through it.

Normally you connect Google Drive and the other browser-sign-in accounts without any setup. But some Google accounts show **This app is blocked** after you sign in. The fix is to create your own sign-in credentials (a **Client ID** and **Client Secret**) in Google Cloud, which takes a few minutes and costs nothing, and paste them into Storage Studio.

## Where to find it

1. Open **Remotes & Accounts**, click **Add Account** and choose **Google Drive**.
2. Type a nickname as usual.
3. Click **Advanced — custom OAuth credentials** to open the section.
4. Paste your **Client ID** and **Client Secret**, then click **Open browser to sign in**.

The section is there for every account type you sign in to through the browser, but the guide and the most common need are for Google.

```mermaid
%% caption: When to use your own credentials
flowchart TD
  A[Add a Google Drive account] --> B{Did Google say This app is blocked?}
  B -->|No| C[Nothing more to do]
  B -->|Yes| D[Show me how: create a Client ID and Client Secret]
  D --> E[Paste them under Advanced, then sign in again]
  E --> F{Is your Google Cloud project published?}
  F -->|Yes| G[The account stays signed in]
  F -->|No, still in test mode| H[Google ends the access after 7 days]
  H --> I[Publish the project, or add the account again weekly]
```

*Flowchart — When to use your own credentials. Outline:*

- Add a Google Drive account
  - leads to Did Google say This app is blocked?
- Did Google say This app is blocked?
  - No: leads to Nothing more to do
  - Yes: leads to Show me how: create a Client ID and Client Secret
- Show me how: create a Client ID and Client Secret
  - leads to Paste them under Advanced, then sign in again
- Paste them under Advanced, then sign in again
  - leads to Is your Google Cloud project published?
- Is your Google Cloud project published?
  - Yes: leads to The account stays signed in
  - No, still in test mode: leads to Google ends the access after 7 days
- Google ends the access after 7 days
  - leads to Publish the project, or add the account again weekly

## Creating the credentials

Click **Show me how (in-app guide)**. The guide, **Create your own Google OAuth credentials**, has a button for each step that opens the right page in Google Cloud Console:

1. **Create a Google Cloud project** — any name will do.
2. **Enable the Google Drive API** for that project.
3. **Configure the OAuth consent screen** — choose **External**, fill in the app name and your email, add the permission the guide shows (there's a copy button), and add your own Google address as a test user.
4. **Create the OAuth client** — choose **Web application**, and add the redirect address the guide shows under **Authorised redirect URIs**.
5. **Copy the Client ID and Client Secret.** The ID ends in *apps.googleusercontent.com*.
6. **Optional: publish the app.** Projects left in test mode have their sign-ins ended by Google after 7 days, which means adding the account again every week. Publishing it on the consent screen stops that. Nobody else can use your client; you're not releasing anything.

Then go back to **Add Account**, paste both values, and sign in as normal. Google's account chooser should appear instead of the block page.

## Good to know

- **Use the same credentials for every Google account you add.** They belong to your Google Cloud project, not to one Google account.
- **They're saved with the account**, so it keeps working after the first sign-in. Like your other sign-ins, they stay on this Mac — see [how your account sign-ins are stored](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/how-account-sign-ins-are-stored).

For the rest of the Google Drive steps, see [Connecting Google Drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/connecting-google-drive). If an account later stops working, see [when an account needs signing in again](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-an-account-needs-signing-in-again).

- **Can I see all my cloud accounts in Finder on a Mac?** Yes. Storage Studio adds a "Storage Studio" location to Finder's sidebar, with each connected cloud account and paired device as a folder inside, and a Finder button in the app's main window opens it. Files stay in the cloud until you open them. Folders you have visited open straight away and… (https://storagestudio.us/faq)

See also: [Cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-accounts) · [Google Photos: what's possible and the Takeout route](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/google-photos)

## What links here

- [Connecting Google Drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/connecting-google-drive)
- [When an account needs signing in again](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-an-account-needs-signing-in-again)