Google updates privacy policy to allow Gmail, Photos ad targeting
Original: Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads
Why This Matters
Linking AI personalization to ad targeting redraws a major privacy boundary for billions of users.
Google quietly updated its privacy policy on Oct. 16 to allow Gmail, Drive, and Google Photos data to be used for targeted ads if users enable the Personal Intelligence AI feature in Search.
Google has revised its privacy policy to add an exception to a long-standing commitment: it will now use data from Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos for personalized advertising — but only if users opt into its Personal Intelligence feature. The change, spotted by Android Authority and reported by The Verge, went live October 16th.
The old policy was straightforward: Google would not use those services' data for ad targeting. The new version adds a qualifier — 'unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads.' Personal Intelligence is the feature that lets AI Mode and other Search tools tap into your email, files, and photos to give more context-aware answers.
Google stresses that advertisers never see the raw content or personally identifying details like your name or email. The targeting is inferred, not handed over. Still, the shift is significant: a privacy boundary that users likely assumed was permanent is now conditional on a feature many may have enabled without fully understanding its ad implications.