In early 2024, Google began tightening restrictions on external integrations by implementing stricter security assessments for partners wanting to maintain their integrations. This has significantly impacted Transloadit, which provides Uppy plugins for Google Drive and Google Photos through our hosted Companion service, and consequently affects our customers. While we've attempted to keep pace with Google's verification requirements (which require annual renewal), as a smaller company, we've determined that maintaining compliance long-term is not financially sustainable. As a result, Google has blocked our app, causing our customers and their end users who rely on Transloadit's Google OAuth2 app ID to encounter errors such as Google hasn't verified this app or This app is blocked. This situation demonstrates why we cannot guarantee indefinite integration with external providers, and reinforces our recommendation that customers use their own credentials, as Transloadit's app credentials were primarily intended for proof-of-concept purposes and to reduce initial friction when getting started with Uppy.

Navigating Google's API changes

Google photos changes

Additionally, in September 2024, Google announced that they will modify the Google Photos API to restrict apps to accessing only files that were uploaded by the same app. This change takes effect from March 2025. Since Uppy doesn't provide functionality for uploading files to Google Photos accounts, our recently developed Google Photos plugin (@uppy/google-photos) will effectively become unusable, and we plan to remove it soon.

Solutions

Option 1: use your own Google Drive OAuth2 credentials

If you're currently using the Google Drive plugin, one option is to continue with the existing plugin (@uppy/google-drive). However, this requires completing Google's verification process yourself. You can then use Uppy with Transloadit's Companion server using your own OAuth2 credentials. Be aware that according to Google, this verification process may take up to 8 weeks and requires annual renewal. For instructions on setting up your own credentials with Transloadit's hosted Companion server, refer to our guide on using custom credentials.

Option 2: migrate to the Google Picker plugins

Recognizing that many companies cannot meet the extensive requirements for obtaining tokens with these restrictive scopes, we immediately began developing two new plugins: @uppy/google-drive-picker and @uppy/google-photos-picker.

We released these plugins in December 2024, which utilize the Google Picker UI to significantly simplify the verification process. Google Drive requires no verification at all, while Google Photos requires only minimal verification when using the Picker API.

The trade-offs include less control, inability to select folders, the need to download an additional bundle, and a less consistent user experience. However, for many organizations, these compromises are worthwhile to avoid the extensive verification process.

You can also use Transloadit's Companion server with these new Google Picker plugins if you prefer not to run your own Companion server. For implementation details, see the documentation for @uppy/google-drive-picker and @uppy/google-photos-picker.

For information about issues and the current status of the Picker plugins, refer to the Picker plugins status tracking issue.

Honorable mention: Instagram

During this same period, Facebook also decided to deprecate the Instagram API, which Uppy and Companion use to enable users to select photos from their Instagram accounts. Starting December 4, 2024, no API will be available for retrieving users' photos on Instagram, except for business accounts which use a separate API. This would require implementing a completely new integration in Uppy, which we have not prioritized at this time.

See also

There are also similar stories from other companies facing challenges with Google's API changes: