Guides · 2026-10-01

Can you use Gemini in China or Hong Kong? What Google’s region lists say

As of 1 October 2026, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are all on Google’s list of places where the Gemini web app is available. Mainland China appears too, but marked “Workspace only”, so personal Google accounts are not covered. Developers get a different answer: the Gemini API and Google AI Studio have their own list, and of these four places only Taiwan is on it.

This article is based on Google’s Gemini Apps Help pages on where the web app is available, mobile app availability, what you need to sign in and the Privacy Hub, and on Google AI for Developers’ available regions page, Gemini API Additional Terms of Service and AI Studio troubleshooting page. Dates for the Hong Kong launch come from press reports and are labelled as such.

At a glance

Google keeps one list per entry point: the web app at gemini.google.com, the mobile app, and a shared list for the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. They differ, so check the one that matches how you use Gemini.

• Mainland China: the web app list reads “Mainland China (Workspace only)”. It is not on the Google Play list for the mobile app or on the API list.
• Hong Kong: on the web app list and the Google Play list, not on the API list.
• Macau: same as Hong Kong.
• Taiwan: on all three.

The web app and the mobile app

Google says the Gemini web app is available in over 230 countries and territories and will expand further “consistent with local regulations” and its AI principles. The same page warns that the mobile app may have different availability.

The mobile app page says it is available in more than 150 countries, and its list covers where you can download the Gemini app from Google Play. For iOS it only says “The Gemini app”, with no separate App Store list. On Android you need Android 9 or later and at least 2 GB of RAM; Android Go is not supported, and the app can’t be used inside an Android Work Profile.

The sign-in page lists three kinds of account:

• Personal Google Account: you must be 13 or over, or the applicable age in your country. Accounts managed by Family Link can’t use the web app.
• Work account: needs a qualifying Workspace edition with Gemini enabled by the administrator, and you must be 18 or over.
• School account: the institution’s administrator must enable the service.

Some web app features work without signing in.

The Gemini API and Google AI Studio

The available regions page (last updated 28 April 2026) covers both the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. The Additional Terms, effective 23 March 2026, say you may only access the services within an available region, that you must be 18 or over, and that AI Studio and the Gemini API are meant for developers building for professional or business purposes, not for consumer use.

For places not on the list, the page points to the Gemini API in Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform on Google Cloud, which Google’s renaming note identifies as the former Vertex AI Platform. Google’s comparison page says supported regions may differ between the two. We have not checked whether it can be used from mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau.

As of 1 October 2026 the newest model promoted across the API docs is Gemini 3.8 Flash (gemini-3.8-flash). The regions page does not list regions per model.

Hong Kong: open for personal accounts, not for the API

Caixin Global reported on 17 March 2026 that Google had announced the day before that it would open the Gemini web app to all users in Hong Kong, with the mobile version to follow. Time Out Hong Kong reported on 27 March that it was available on the web and in the App Store. Those dates come from the press; Google’s help pages don’t give one. What the official lists confirm is that Hong Kong is on the web app list and the Google Play list as of 1 October 2026.

That sets Gemini apart from Claude: Hong Kong is not on Anthropic’s supported countries page. For ChatGPT and other services, see the Hong Kong page.

The API is a separate matter. Neither Hong Kong nor Macau is on the API list, so someone in Hong Kong can use the web app and still be turned away by Google AI Studio.

Mainland China: what “Workspace only” means

Google adds “Workspace only” to the mainland China entry and says nothing more. Read literally, only Workspace work accounts are covered and personal Google accounts are not. A work account still has to meet the conditions above: a qualifying Workspace edition, Gemini enabled by the administrator, and a user aged 18 or over.

Mainland China is not on the Google Play list for the mobile app or on the API list. The lists also only say where Google offers the service; whether gemini.google.com loads on a local network is a separate question, and one you can test (see below).

Messages you may see

• “Can’t access this service”: the sign-in page treats this as an account-type or age problem: a personal account you don’t manage yourself, a work or school account without Gemini enabled, or a user below the minimum age (13 or the local age for personal and school accounts, 18 for work accounts).
• “Something went wrong”: Google says your account can’t access the app at the moment, for reasons that include location, age or type of account. The same page says Google uses signals and data to check that accounts have a consistent history of abuse-free activity, and works to make sure there are real users behind accounts.
• “Google AI Studio is not available in your region”: the regions page gives three possible causes: your region is not on the list, you are under 18, or you haven’t verified your age on your Google Account.
• 403 Access Restricted in AI Studio: according to the troubleshooting page, you are using AI Studio in a way that doesn’t follow the terms, and one common reason is being outside a supported region.

How Google decides where you are

Google has not published how Gemini decides whether your location is supported. Two official statements are relevant:

• The Gemini Privacy Hub says location data is always collected when you use Gemini Apps. By default it comes from the general area of your IP address or the Home and Work addresses in your Google Account, and with your permission from your device’s precise location. The page describes this as a way to give relevant answers; it does not say whether it is used to decide availability.
• The API regions page tells Colab users that region restrictions apply based on where the Colab instance is, not where the user is.

What can be seen from outside, and what this site checks, is your network exit: which region it is in, whether it is residential or datacenter, and whether it is flagged as a proxy. When proxy software routes by domain, different sites can see different exits; Which IP do ChatGPT and Claude actually see? explains why, and Residential vs datacenter vs ISP IPs covers exit types.

Check your exit with IP Judge

Google offers no public way to read the IP it sees, so the Gemini region check works differently from the ChatGPT and Claude checks. It does not read the IP on Gemini’s side. Instead it:

• judges your region from the exit that opened this site, against Google’s Gemini web app list (checked on 30 September 2026);
• tests separately whether your browser can reach gemini.google.com, and marks it unreachable if there is no response within 8 seconds;
• looks up your IPv4 and IPv6 exits and flags them when they are in different regions, since Google may then see the IPv6 one;
• shows whether the exit is residential, datacenter or flagged as a proxy, and checks for DNS and WebRTC leaks.

Two caveats. The Gemini card’s main verdict follows the web app list, and a second line, “API / AI Studio”, follows the API list; for an exit in Hong Kong or Macau the first shows a supported region and the second shows it isn’t on the list. And if your API calls run on a server or in a terminal, that machine may use a different exit from your browser: run curl ipjudge.org/en on it to see its exit IP, region and network type.

Service availability by place is on the mainland China and Hong Kong pages, and the rules behind each verdict are on the methodology page.

FAQ

I’m in Hong Kong. Can I use Gemini directly now?

The web app, yes. As of 1 October 2026 Hong Kong is on Google’s web app list and Google Play list, and the minimum age for a personal account is 13 (or the local age). Hong Kong is not on the list for the Gemini API and Google AI Studio.

Can I sign in to Gemini with a personal Google account in mainland China?

The list marks mainland China as “Workspace only”, which leaves personal accounts out. Google hasn’t said whether that will change.

The web app works, so why does AI Studio say my region isn’t available?

They use different lists. Hong Kong and Macau are on the web app list but not the API and AI Studio list. AI Studio also requires you to be 18 or over and may ask you to verify your age on your Google Account first.

My exit is in a supported region but I still get “Something went wrong”.

Location is only one of the reasons Google lists; age, account type and the account’s history also count. Use the Gemini region check to confirm both your IPv4 and IPv6 exits are in a supported region and not flagged as proxies, then look at the account itself.