Gmail privacy concerns escalate as expert warns users about Google AI training data access

Gmail users urged to switch off these two main features over privacy...

A tech expert is urging Gmail users to switch off several features over concerns that Google could automatically access their sensitive email data and use it to train AI. "IMPORTANT message for everyone using Gmail," engineering YouTuber Davey Jones wrote in a viral X PSA on this alleged digital Trojan Horse. "You have been automatically OPTED IN to allow Gmail to access all your private messages & attachments to train AI models." The cybersecurity expert added, "You have to manually turn off Smart Features in the Settings menu in TWO locations." They highlighted these two locations in a screenshot. The Post reached out to Google for comment. Per the post, desktop and laptop users would have to click on the "See all settings" tab, go the "Smart features" setting, and unselect "Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet." Next, click "Manage Workplace smart feature settings," after which you'll be directed to a secondary pop-up that will allow you to check and uncheck features in Google Workspace and other Google products. By deactivating these functions, Gmail users will switch off the "Ask Gemini" feature that provides a content summary, suggestions from Google Assistant and the Gemini App, and other features. Changing these settings on Smartphones, meanwhile, requires users to pull up their settings page (located at the bottom of the inbox menu) and click on "data privacy," the Huffpost reported. This will allow them to deactivate "Smart features" and go to the "Google Workspace smart features" to follow suit for Workspace and Google products. The one caveat is that doing so will also disable a lot of useful tools as well. These include features like "smart compose," the function that filters emails into "promotional" and "social" inboxes, and even bare necessities like spell-check, grammar check and autocorrect. As a result, this can render people's Gmail a disorganized, ransom note-esque mess. "Oh, good. It also disables inbox categories," griped one disillusioned user. "Wonderful. Why do they have to keep making things progressively s -- tier." Others wondered why the aforementioned email categories were now only available with AI, when users had previously been able to access them without it. "How come email categories been working for over 5 years now without Gemini stuff and now when you disable gemini stuff email categories are gone????? How do you explain that huh?!?!?" One spluttered. This comes on the heels of a November 25 lawsuit filed by Illinois resident Thomas Thele. In it, he claimed that on October 10, 2025, "Google secretly turned on Gemini for all its users' Gmail, Chat, and Meet accounts, enabling AI to track its users' private communications contained in those platforms without the users' knowledge or consent." "As of the date of this filing, Google continues to track these private communications with Gemini by default, requiring users to affirmatively find this data privacy setting and shut it off, despite never 'agreeing' to such AI tracking in the first place," they added. A Google rep told the HuffPost via email that the reports are "misleading." "Gmail Smart Features have existed for many years, and we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model," they claimed, adding that they practice utmost transparency when updating their "service and policies."

Gmail users urged to switch off these two main features over privacy concerns

A tech expert is urging Gmail users to switch off several features over concerns that Google could automatically access their sensitive email data and use it to train AI. A tech expert is urging Gmail users to switch off several features over concerns that Google could automatically access their sensitive email data and use it to train AI. "IMPORTANT message for everyone using Gmail," engineering YouTuber Davey Jones wrote in a viral X PSA on this alleged digital Trojan Horse. "You have been automatically OPTED IN to allow Gmail to access all your private messages & attachments to train AI models." The cybersecurity expert added, "You have to manually turn off Smart Features in the Settings menu in TWO locations." They highlighted these two locations in a screenshot. The Post reached out to Google for comment. Per the post, desktop and laptop users would have to click on the "See all settings" tab, go the "Smart features" setting, and unselect "Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet." Next, click "Manage Workplace smart feature settings," after which you'll be directed to a secondary pop-up that will allow you to check and uncheck features in Google Workspace and other Google products. By deactivating these functions, Gmail users will switch off the "Ask Gemini" feature that provides a content summary, suggestions from Google Assistant and the Gemini App, and other features. Changing these settings on Smartphones, meanwhile, requires users to pull up their settings page (located at the bottom of the inbox menu) and click on "data privacy," the Huffpost reported. This will allow them to deactivate "Smart features" and go to the "Google Workspace smart features" to follow suit for Workspace and Google products. The one caveat is that doing so will also disable a lot of useful tools as well. These include features like "smart compose," the function that filters emails into "promotional" and "social" inboxes, and even bare necessities like spell-check, grammar check and autocorrect. As a result, this can render people's Gmail a disorganized, ransom note-esque mess. "Oh, good. It also disables inbox categories," griped one disillusioned user. "Wonderful. Why do they have to keep making things progressively s -- tier." Others wondered why the aforementioned email categories were now only available with AI, when users had previously been able to access them without it. "How come email categories been working for over 5 years now without Gemini stuff and now when you disable gemini stuff email categories are gone????? How do you explain that huh?!?!?" One spluttered. This comes on the heels of a November 25 lawsuit filed by Illinois resident Thomas Thele. In it, he claimed that on October 10, 2025, "Google secretly turned on Gemini for all its users' Gmail, Chat, and Meet accounts, enabling AI to track its users' private communications contained in those platforms without the users' knowledge or consent." "As of the date of this filing, Google continues to track these private communications with Gemini by default, requiring users to affirmatively find this data privacy setting and shut it off, despite never 'agreeing' to such AI tracking in the first place," they added. A Google rep told the HuffPost via email that the reports are "misleading." "Gmail Smart Features have existed for many years, and we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model," they claimed, adding that they practice utmost transparency when updating their "service and policies."

Gmail might be using your data to train its AI, change these settings now to stay safe

While Google denies using emails to train AI models, privacy experts urge users to review and update settings regularly for better data safety. Gmail is one of the most widely used email platforms in the world, trusted with everything from personal conversations to sensitive work files. But a recent warning from a tech expert has sparked serious concern over email privacy. An engineering YouTuber, Davery Jones, recently claimed that Gmail accounts are automatically set to allow Google to access emails and attachments to power its AI features, often without users realising it. He used the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to warn that Gmail users may have been 'opted in by default' to AI tools capable of reading private messages. While Google insists this data is not used to train its AI models, experts argue that opt-out-by-default settings can be confusing and leave users unaware of how much access they are granting. For those who want to protect their privacy, turning off Gmail's smart features is a simple but important step. Desktop and laptop users can start by opening Gmail, clicking the 'See all settings' tab, and then navigating to the Smart Features section. Here, users should uncheck the box that says 'Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet'. Also read: 'Realme 16 Pro series is overpriced...': Company CMO says wait till other brands launch their mid-rangers After that, users need to click on 'Manage Workspace smart feature settings'. A secondary window will appear, allowing users to turn off features across Google products and Google Workspace. Disabling these features will remove functions such as the Ask Gemini tool, content summaries, Google Assistant suggestions, and other automated recommendations. Also read: Realme and OnePlus to operate as Oppo sub-brands: What we know so far Although Google has said that it does not use Gmail data to train AI, privacy experts have called the smart features intrusive. The settings can be confusing, and many users may not even realise these features are turned on by default, meaning sensitive email information could be accessed without explicit consent. That in itself means any Gmail user can take a few minutes to update these settings, thereby keeping their emails and attachments private. Experts note that while Google is not currently using that information to train its AI, turning off unnecessary features is simply a good habit to develop for digital safety. Also read: Google Pixel 9 Pro price drops by over Rs 25,700: How to get this deal Google has denied accusations that it uses user emails to train its AI models. The company says it uses data collected through smart features only to provide suggestions and assistive tools within Gmail and other Google products. It underlines that no email content appears outside these functionalities. Still, the alerts serve as a good reminder that users need to check their account settings periodically. Privacy experts suggest that users check Gmail and other apps regularly to ensure features are not automatically sharing information without consent.