What does blocking Rovo access actually do and not do?

[#1]

If you add Rovo to the blocklist for an Atlassian app, it is easy to assume that Rovo can no longer access data from that app. That is not what happens.

Blocking Rovo for an app removes Rovo user interface elements in that specific app, but it does not remove the app’s data from the Teamwork Graph. The Teamwork Graph is the underlying data graph that powers Rovo experiences, and it is also used by external integrations such as Rovo MCP and the Teamwork Graph CLI.

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Block one app: Rovo can still access the data

When Rovo is blocklisted for a specific app:

• Rovo UI elements are removed from that app.

• Users will not see Rovo features surfaced inside that app experience.

• This change is limited to the app where Rovo was blocked.

In other words, the blocklist is primarily a product surface control, not a data removal mechanism.

Blocking Rovo from an app does not:

• Delete or remove that app’s data from the Teamwork Graph.

• Stop the Teamwork Graph from existing as the shared underlying data layer.

• Stop Rovo from accessing the data through the Chat interface in other Apps.

• Prevent external AI integrations from accessing data through Rovo MCP or the Teamwork Graph CLI.

If you block Rovo from all apps

If Rovo is blocked from every Atlassian app:

• No one will be able to use Rovo Chat in any surface

• No one will be able to use Rovo Agents in any surface

• The Chat app will disappear.

• The Rovo browser extension will stop working for that site.

• Rovo Desktop will also stop working for that site.

That said, external AI integrations can still access data unless they are separately restricted.

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External AI integration will still work

Even if Rovo is blocked from all apps, the following can still access data through the Teamwork Graph:

• Rovo MCP integrations

• Teamwork Graph CLI integrations

This is the key distinction: blocking Rovo everywhere disables the Rovo product experience, but it does not automatically shut off Teamwork Graph data access for external integrations.

How to control external integration access

There are separate admin controls for MCP and CLI in admin.atlassian.net.

See Control Atlassian Rovo MCP server settings | Atlassian Support

Those controls let you block access to each Atlassian app separately. These controls affect all integrations that rely on that access path. You can block edit-access while still allowing read-access per app.

You can also block Atlassian-supported domains and instead add your own Allowlist. This enables you to allow Claude while blocking ChatGPT or whatever your internal policy requires.

Quick summary

• Blocking Rovo for an app removes Rovo UI elements and integrated AI features in that app only

• It does not remove data from the Teamwork Graph and Rovo will still process the data if allowed in other apps

• Blocking Rovo from all apps disables Chat, Agents, the Chat app, the browser extension, and Rovo Desktop for that site.

• MCP and Teamwork Graph CLI can still access data unless separately blocked in admin controls.

[__ Jimi Wikman]

Great article @Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_ !

This was news to me, so thank you for sharing!

[Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_]

Thanks @__ Jimi Wikman 

Someone at the Freiburg ACE mentioned this and I was very confused at first and annoyed that blocking Rovo would not block the data access. So I've digged into it and if you separate Rovo from the TWG is sort of makes sense.