In a post on the Gemini blog dated November 5, 2026, Google shows how Gemini builds an app from a hand drawing that you can try out right away. Google names an app mockup, a habit tracker, and a game board as templates.
The post is short and mentions neither plans nor countries. The details are in the help pages and on the product page for Canvas, and there is a sharing restriction there that you should know about before the first link.
How does the drawing become an app?
The help page names "Add files" for this: you use it to attach the photo of the drawing to the prompt. Then you select Canvas and ask Gemini to program the app. In Google's example, the request is in English; whether a German prompt works the same way, Google does not say.
From drawing to app in three steps
Process according to Google's post of November 5, 2026
- PhotoPhotograph the drawing and attach it to the prompt via "Add files"
- CanvasSelect Canvas and ask Gemini to program the app
- PreviewTry out the app, adjust colors, fonts, and functions in the chat
The post mentions neither plans nor countries
Sources: Google Blog, Gemini Apps Help
In the preview you try out the app. Gemini changes colors, fonts, or functions immediately as soon as you ask for a change in the chat.
"Code" shows the source code in Canvas, "Show console" lists errors and logs. With "Select and ask" you can have a specific section changed. Canvas saves changes automatically.
Who can use Canvas, and what does it cost?
All Gemini users can use Canvas, in all languages and countries where the Gemini app is available. On the product page you can set Germany and German. Subscribers to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra use Canvas with Gemini 3 and a context window of one million tokens for larger projects. What Canvas costs, Google does not say.
The "Add Gemini features" function, which gives an app text or image generation, is only available from age 18. Under 18, creating content from a Canvas document and copying Canvas content that others have shared are also unavailable.
What happens to the data of a shared app?
If an app needs persistent storage, Gemini automatically creates a Firestore database for it; alternatively, you can connect your own storage location. If the app exchanges data between multiple users, the database is public: anyone with the link sees and edits all data stored in the app. If each person uses the app only for themselves, the database stays private. The page on safety in Canvas describes this rule.
You share Canvas apps via public links that can only be opened on gemini.google.com, not in the mobile Gemini app.
A prototype that you send to customers and in which several people enter something therefore stores these entries in such a way that anyone with the link can see all entries. As of November 8, we have not found an independent test of the function.
What this means for you
- It is best to try out the function with a drawing where nothing is at stake, such as a tracker for your weekly routine.
- Before sharing, it is best to clarify whether the app stores entries from multiple people. If so, no customer data, passwords, or payment data belong in it, because anyone with the link sees and changes such entries.
- Look at the source code in the "Code" section before you pass on an app.
- If you open an app that someone sent you, first check who the app comes from. Google advises not to enter sensitive data in other people's apps, especially no passwords or payment data.
Google published the post on November 5, 2026.
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