Google may use Gmail, Photos data for ads: how to opt out

Google has rewritten one of its longest-standing privacy promises. Its privacy policy used to say, flatly, that it does not show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail or Photos. The new version, effective October 16, 2026, adds a big exception: unless you choose to make that data available to other Google services that support personalized ads.

In practice, that means if you connect Gmail or Google Photos to Personal Intelligence in Google Search, what Search learns from them can now shape the ads you see. Android Authority spotted the change on October 23, and Google has since confirmed how it works. Here is what changed, what Google says it does and doesn't do, and how to turn it off.

What changed in Google's privacy policy

The old policy, dated October 1, 2026, said: "We don't show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Photos." The current policy keeps that sentence but adds: "unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads."

Google also added a new paragraph explaining how that can happen. It says you may choose to let services like Search or the Gemini apps access data from other Google services, such as Google Photos and Workspace apps like Gmail and Drive, to get a more personalized experience. "For example, Search may process some of the data that you allow Search to access to personalize content, including ads," the policy now reads.

Some things have not changed. The policy still says Google does not show personalized ads based on sensitive categories such as race, religion, sexual orientation or health, and that it does not share information that identifies you, like your name or email, with advertisers unless you ask it to. You can compare the two versions yourself in the archived versions section of Google's privacy policy page.

What is Personal Intelligence?

Personal Intelligence is Google's name for letting its AI tools use your own data. Google launched it in the Gemini app in January 2026 and brought it to AI Mode in Search on January 22 for paying AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers in the US. In March, Google expanded it to free users in the US across AI Mode, the Gemini app and Gemini in Chrome. It is off by default and you have to opt in.

Once you connect your apps, AI Mode can pull in context from your email and photos, and Google's own examples include planning a family getaway and getting shopping suggestions that fit you. Google's help page says connecting gives all of its Search services access to Workspace (for now, Gmail and Google Calendar) and Google Photos. That includes Google Search with AI Mode and Discover, Maps with Ask Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News.

Will Google read my Gmail to show me ads?

Not directly, according to Google. Its Search help page answers this exact question: "Ads will not be based directly on your Gmail inbox or your Google Photos library." But it goes on to say that if you connect your apps, Search may use "summaries, excerpts and inferences" from them to personalize your experience, and "that same info may be used to show you ads."

In a statement given to Ars Technica, Google said: "Connecting your apps is entirely opt-in. Ads will continue to be relevant to things like your query, the context of the response and your interests. Ads will not be based directly on your Gmail inbox or Photos library, and as always, sensitive information will not be used to tailor ads." A spokesperson also told Ars that the update does not change how Google handles your data with its advertising partners, and that this data is not given to third parties.

Google's help page backs that up: if you connect your apps, advertisers do not get access to your Gmail inbox or Google Photos. So the short version is this. Google is not scanning your whole inbox to build an ad profile, but if Gmail or Photos helps answer something you ask AI Mode, what it learned there can also help pick the ads you see.

Why this matters now: ads are coming to AI search

The timing makes sense. At Google Marketing Live in May 2026, Google said it was testing new ad formats built with its Gemini AI inside AI Mode, including Conversational Discovery ads that answer a person's specific question and Highlighted Answers. Google says these ads are clearly labeled as Sponsored.

As Ars Technica points out, the Gemini app does not currently show ads, but AI search tools can. The more personal data you feed into AI Mode, the more of that context could feed into the sponsored results it shows. The policy update spells that out.

Who is affected?

Only people who have connected their apps. To use connected apps in Search you must be 18 or older, signed into a personal Google Account (not a work or school account) and have Personalized Recommendations turned on. Connecting Google Photos isn't available in all regions, and the Calendar connection currently works only in the US in English.

Google's help page lists dozens of supported countries, including the US, Canada, Brazil, India, Japan, Australia, South Africa and the UAE. The UK, EU countries such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Ireland, plus Switzerland and Norway are not on the list, so people there cannot connect Gmail or Photos to Search yet.

There is also an AI training angle. Google's help page says that if you connect your apps, it may use that data to improve its services, including by training generative AI models, and that it trains on summaries, excerpts and inferences rather than your whole inbox or photo library. Disconnecting an app does not delete your existing Search Services History, which you have to manage and delete separately at activity.google.com.

How to stop Gmail and Photos data being used for ads

If you never turned on Personal Intelligence or connected your apps, you don't need to do anything. If you did, or you're not sure, here's how to check on a computer. Open your Google Account and go to Search Services Personalization. Under Additional Personal Intelligence, open Connected Content Apps. Next to Google Workspace and Google Photos, choose Disconnect.

If you would rather switch off personalization in Search altogether, you can turn off Personalized Recommendations on the same Search Services Personalization page. The Gemini app has its own Personal Intelligence settings where you can disconnect apps too. To control the other signals Google uses for ads, such as your interests and activity, visit My Ad Center from your Google Account.

What it means

Google's promise about Gmail, Drive and Photos has been weakened, but not dropped. Your emails and photos still aren't used for ads by default. The change only affects people who choose to connect those apps to Google's AI features. That choice now has a cost that is easy to miss: what Google learns from your inbox and photos to answer you can also be used to sell to you. If that trade-off doesn't sit right with you, take two minutes to check your Connected Content Apps settings.