Google has quietly changed its privacy policy so that personal data from Gmail, Drive and Google Photos can be used to personalise ads, but only for people who have connected those apps to Google’s AI features. The change took effect on October 16 and was first spotted by Android Authority, The Verge reports.
What changed in the wording
Google’s policy used to say plainly that it would not use content from Drive, Gmail or Photos for personalised ads. The updated version keeps that promise but adds an exception: “unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads.”
That exception matters because of a feature called Personal Intelligence. It lets AI Mode and other Search tools read your Gmail, Drive and Photos so they can give answers and recommendations that fit your life. According to The Verge, anyone who switched that on may now see ads shaped by what is in those apps.
What Google says advertisers do not get
Google’s position, as reported by The Verge, is that advertisers never see your Drive, Gmail or Photos content, or details such as your name and email address. Google also says it will not target ads using sensitive categories such as race, sexual orientation, religion or health.
So the data does not leave Google. What changes is that Google itself can now use it to decide which ads to show you.
How to keep your inbox out of your ads
If you do not want this, you have two options, both in your Google account:
- Disconnect Gmail, Drive or Photos from Search’s Personal Intelligence features, one app at a time.
- Turn off Personalized Recommendations completely on the Search Services Personalization settings page.
The first option keeps some personalisation while cutting out the apps you care most about. The second is the simplest if you would rather not think about it again.
Why this matters
This is a pattern worth watching. AI assistants work better when they know more about you, so companies ask for access to email, files and photos. Once that access exists, the same data becomes useful for advertising too. Google’s change is small on paper, but it shows how a feature sold as “smarter answers” can widen what a company does with your information.
If you connected your Google apps to AI Mode in the past few months, now is a good time to check those settings.
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