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How to Use Gemini App Side Panel and New Settings

Find chats, Scheduled tasks, Customize skills, and redesigned Gemini settings after the September 2026 app update.

September 29, 2026 Yum News

The Gemini app on Android and iOS is rolling out a quieter layout change than a new model drop, and it still changes how you work. Search moved. Chat history gained filters. Settings now group privacy, usage, and Personal Intelligence in one place.

9to5Google first documented the wave on 28 September 2026. The homepage looks familiar. The side panel and the profile menu do not. This guide maps the new labels to the official Gemini Apps Help steps so you can find chats, connectors, and activity controls without hunting.

The redesign is still rolling out account by account. If your phone still shows the old drawer, keep the Google app updated and check again after a day.

What changed in the side panel

Search sits in the top-right of the drawer instead of competing with the chat list. History now filters into All, Ready, Needs attention, and In progress. Those labels matter once you run longer Spark-style tasks that finish after you leave the thread.

Scheduled replaces the older Scheduled actions page. It is the list of time-based jobs you already approved, not a second inbox.

Suggested offers starter prompts such as a news digest or a study quiz. Treat those as templates. Edit the prompt before you send it if the topic is personal.

Customize is the new hub. Its Discover tab surfaces skills (the replacement for Gems) and third-party connected apps. In this mobile layout, skills are invoked with @ in the prompt box. That differs from Gemini Spark on the web, where skills often start with /.

The Connectors tab is the modern Connected Apps list. Overflow menus use app-store language such as Uninstall. Uninstalling disconnects the app. It does not erase Gemini Apps Activity that already ran.

Person reviewing app settings on a smartphone

Open the redesigned Settings page

On phones that have the new UI:

Open the Gemini app and sign in with the Google Account you use for Gemini Apps.
Tap your profile photo in the top-right, or tap the gear icon if your build still shows it.
Confirm the first block lists Manage account and Usage limits.

If you still see a long ungrouped list, you are on the previous settings layout. Official Gemini Apps Help still applies. The same controls exist; the labels sit in different groups.

Preferences

This group holds everyday product switches:

Notifications
Personal Intelligence
Avatar
Gem manager
Theme
Voice
Media
Device controls
Gemini Notebook

Gem manager remains until Gems migrate to skills. Google’s help article About the transition from Gems to skills says personal accounts start that migration in November 2026. Workspace education accounts follow later. Do not delete a Gem until you have copied its instructions and any knowledge files.

Personal Intelligence is opt-in. Google’s About personalization with Connected Apps page lists the Google services that can feed it, including Workspace, Search services, Photos (if eligible), YouTube, and Wallet. Turn on only the sources you want Gemini to read.

For a full Personal Intelligence walkthrough, see How to Turn On Gemini Personal Intelligence Settings.

Data and privacy

This group is where you should spend the most time after an app redesign:

Import memory
Contact info from your devices
Gemini Apps Activity
Your public links
Privacy Help Hub

Gemini Apps Activity is the official record of prompts and responses tied to your account. Google documents how to turn it on or off and how to delete activity from Gemini Apps Help. Review it after you connect a new third-party app.

Your public links lists Gem or skill share links you published. Revoke any link you no longer want public.

Contact info from your devices is a separate permission. Google’s personalization help notes that device contacts have extra limits (including US, English, and plan rules on some builds). Leave it off if you do not want Gemini to use on-device contact data.

Support

Help, Report a problem, About, and Updates live here. Use Report a problem when a filter, connector, or scheduled task fails after the update. Include the app version from About.

Laptop and notes on a desk during a settings review

Filter chats and scheduled work

Use the new history filters as a queue, not as decoration.

Open the side panel.
Choose Needs attention first. That is where tasks that wait on you should land.
Open In progress for jobs that are still running.
Open Scheduled and confirm each job still has a reason to run.
Delete or pause anything you no longer want Gemini to start on a timer.

If a scheduled item is missing, it may still live under Spark on the web. Gemini Spark help explains how schedules attach to tasks and which Connected Apps Spark may call. Check both surfaces until the mobile drawer and Spark stay in sync on your account.

Connect or remove an app from Customize

Google’s Use and manage connected apps in Gemini article is the official source. The new Customize and Connectors tabs are a new front door to the same permission model.

On the web (still the most complete list):

Go to gemini.google.com.
Open Settings and help, then Apps.
Turn an app on and complete the provider’s sign-in.
In a prompt, type @ and select the app when you want to force it.

On the mobile app:

Open the side panel and tap Customize.
Use Discover to find a skill or app, or open Connectors for apps you already linked.
Turn the connector on and approve only the scopes you need.
To remove it later, open the overflow menu and choose Uninstall (or disconnect on older builds).

Gemini can use a connected app automatically when a prompt matches. @ is still the reliable way to name the tool. Airtable’s developer docs match Google’s flow: enable the app, pick bases during OAuth, then @Airtable when you want that source.

Disconnecting an app stops new access. It does not wipe earlier chats. Delete those threads in Gemini Apps Activity if the content should not stay in your account.

Keep Gems usable until skills take over

Skills are the long-term replacement. Google will auto-migrate Gems for personal accounts starting in November 2026. You can recreate a Gem as a skill earlier if Spark is available on your plan.

Open Gem manager from Preferences.
Open each custom Gem and copy the instructions.
Download any knowledge files the Gem attached.
In Spark (Google AI Pro or Ultra, where available), create a skill with the same instructions and files.
On the new mobile Customize page, confirm the skill appears under Discover before you retire the Gem.

Free-tier access to skills after migration is not fully spelled out in the public help article. Keep local copies of instructions until Google finishes the cutover for your account type.

Tips that save time after the update

Update the Gemini app from Google Play or the App Store before you judge missing tabs. The redesign is staged.
Pin one work chat and one personal chat. Filters help, but pins still beat scrolling.
Review Usage limits after you enable several connectors. Heavy @ workflows count against plan caps.
Turn Personal Intelligence off in a sensitive thread if the product offers a per-chat control on your build.
Do not grant Wallet, Contacts, or device contact access “just in case.” Add them when you have a prompt that needs them.
If @ does nothing, the app is not connected yet, or it is unavailable in your country and language. Google and partners publish location limits per app.

Conclusion

The September 2026 Gemini app update is a navigation cleanup, not a new model. Learn three surfaces: filtered history, Customize (skills and connectors), and the grouped Settings page. Then lock down Gemini Apps Activity and Personal Intelligence the same day you connect a new tool.

When the new drawer appears on your account, spend ten minutes in Scheduled and Connectors. That is where leftover jobs and forgotten OAuth grants hide.