# Exploring ChatGPT App Ecosystem: Distribution, Deployment and Security

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.14357 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.14357/

## Key facts

- Cited by 12 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 26 Aug 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 12 of 12)

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- [Beyond Jailbreak: Unveiling Risks in LLM Applications Arising from Blurred Capability Boundaries](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.17874/) (2025)
- [On the Maintenance and Co-evolution of Agent Plugins: An Empirical Study of Claude Code Plugin Marketplaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.28497/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

ChatGPT has enabled third-party developers to create plugins to expand ChatGPT's capabilities.These plugins are distributed through OpenAI's plugin store, making them easily accessible to users. With ChatGPT as the backbone, this app ecosystem has illustrated great business potential by offering users personalized services in a conversational manner. Nonetheless, many crucial aspects regarding app development, deployment, and security of this ecosystem have yet to be thoroughly studied in the research community, potentially hindering a broader adoption by both developers and users. In this work, we conduct the first comprehensive study of the ChatGPT app ecosystem, aiming to illuminate its landscape for our research community. Our study examines the distribution and deployment models in the integration of LLMs and third-party apps, and assesses their security and privacy implications. We uncover an uneven distribution of functionality among ChatGPT plugins, highlighting prevalent and emerging topics. We also identify severe flaws in the authentication and user data protection for third-party app APIs integrated within LLMs, revealing a concerning status quo of security and privacy in this app ecosystem. Our work provides insights for the secure and sustainable development of this rapidly evolving ecosystem.