It was recently claimed in social media and some online reports that Google is scanning users’ Gmail messages and attachments to train its Gemini AI model. However, Google has termed these allegations as completely misleading.
Google spokeswoman Jenny Thomson told The Verge that the company has not changed any user settings. Gmail’s smart features like spell check, predictive text, package tracking, and flight auto-add have been around for a long time. Google clarified that these features have no use in Gemini AI testing.
Many users responded to an update in January that separated personalization settings for Workspace products (Gmail, Calendar, Docs) from other Google apps (Maps, Wallet).
Some users who had previously turned off Smart Features noticed that these features were turned on again. Google said that this was not a policy change, but the result of a settings update.
What do Smart Features do?
According to Google, when Smart Features are enabled, they only use email content to personalize the user experience, not AI training data. These features help with things like providing suggested replies, order tracking, and flight booking auto-detect.
Turning this off limits personalized suggestions, but Gmail content is not processed for these features.
Legal concerns and lawsuit
Although Google clarified that email data is not used for Gemini AI, a class-action lawsuit was filed this month alleging violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act. It was alleged that Google increased AI’s access to users’ private conversations in Gmail, Chat, and Meet.
Google has not yet made any public comment on this lawsuit. According to Google’s clarification, Gmail content is not being used for Gemini AI testing. Smart features only serve to personalize the user experience. Users can customize their Gmail experience, but that doesn’t mean their email content is going through AI training.
