Google has updated its privacy policy to allow personal information from Gmail, Google Photos and Google Drive to potentially influence targeted advertisements under certain circumstances, raising fresh concerns about how the technology giant handles users’ private data.
The change, which took effect on October 16, introduces an important exception to Google’s existing restrictions on using content from these services for advertising personalisation. The update is particularly relevant to users who connect their accounts to Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) services, including Search and Gemini, through its Personal Intelligence features.
First reported by Android Authority, the development comes as Google increasingly integrates AI into its products, allowing its services to draw on information across connected applications to deliver more personalised experiences.
Credits: The Indian Express
Google’s updated policy introduces an advertising exception
Google’s privacy policy continues to state that the company does not use content from Gmail, Drive or Google Photos to personalise advertisements by default. However, the updated wording introduces an exception when users choose to make information from these services available to other Google services that support personalised advertising.
This distinction could become increasingly significant as Google’s AI ecosystem expands. Personal Intelligence enables eligible services such as Search and Gemini to use information from connected applications to provide more relevant answers, recommendations and assistance.
For instance, a user might connect Gmail to help Gemini retrieve flight details, organise a holiday itinerary or identify a hotel reservation. Similarly, information stored in Google Photos could help provide context for certain requests.
Under the revised policy, information shared with eligible services for these personalised experiences could potentially influence the advertisements users encounter.
The change does not mean Google is automatically scanning every user’s emails, photographs and files for advertising purposes. Rather, the exception concerns information that users choose to make available to other services, subject to the applicable settings and policies.
Google’s AI ambitions complicate the privacy debate
The update arrives as Google accelerates its AI development and introduces features designed to make its products more proactive.
Earlier in 2026, the company began rolling out an AI-powered Gmail inbox designed to analyse messages and surface important information, reminders and upcoming tasks. These capabilities illustrate how personal information can help AI systems deliver more useful and context-aware services.
However, the same integration raises questions about where the boundaries between convenience, personalisation and advertising should lie.
When users allow AI assistants to access emails, travel bookings or other personal information, they may expect that data to be used to answer questions or organise their lives. The possibility that information shared for those purposes could also influence advertising introduces another consideration for users deciding which services to connect.
Google maintains that advertisers cannot directly access users’ private emails, photographs or personally identifying information without permission. Nevertheless, the distinction between advertisers accessing personal content and Google using eligible information to personalise advertisements remains important to understanding the policy change.
Credits: Dexerto
How users can protect their personal information
Users who prefer to keep their personal information separate from Google’s AI-powered services can review their connected applications and account preferences.
Disconnecting Gmail, Google Photos or other applications from Personal Intelligence can limit the information available to connected services. Users can also review personalised recommendations and advertising settings through their Google Account.
The precise controls available may vary depending on the service, account type and feature being used. Reviewing permissions is therefore important, particularly for people who have enabled multiple AI integrations.
The latest change also follows wider scrutiny of Google’s data practices. In September, the company began analysing Google Search and YouTube viewing histories in Canada to estimate users’ ages, potentially prompting some adults to verify their identities.
As Google continues to bring AI into everyday applications, the balance between personalisation and privacy is likely to remain a central issue. For users, the key question is no longer simply whether their information is collected, but how data shared to make AI more useful might be used across the company’s wider ecosystem.
