Google May Use Your Gmail, Drive and Photos Data for Ads Here’s How to Stop It

Google's updated privacy policy could allow information from Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos to influence personalised ads through connected services. Find out what the change means, how Personal Intelligence works, and how to manage your privacy settings.

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Google has introduced an amendment in its privacy policy that allows the information that is collected through its Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos services to be utilized in personalized advertising services under specific circumstances. The new privacy amendment that was introduced by Google, allegedly effective from October 16, creates an exception to the company's previous policy of not making use of content from these applications in ad targeting purposes. This amendment has been brought in relation with the Personal Intelligence feature of Google.

There are several questions in regard to what kind of information Google makes use of to personalize its advertisements. E-mails, documents, and photos may include lots of information about the interests, travels, purchases, and everyday life of the user. Even though Google claims that no users' e-mails and photo collections are handed to advertisers, the derived information might impact the ads.

As mentioned in Android Authority's report, under this policy change, Google can create an exception if the user grants access to his data by other Google applications. In other words, how data from Gmail, Drive, and Photos will be used will depend upon the connectivity features activated by the user.

Why Google Is Changing Its Privacy Policy

This policy change is related to Personal Intelligence, which is a function that aims to improve the usefulness of Google’s products by utilizing information from connected accounts. In this way, Google will be able to provide more personalized suggestions based on information contained in Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.

For instance, in case there is a hotel booking in Gmail, Google Search will be able to suggest restaurants near the hotel based on that piece of information. Relevant information from connected files and photos could also be used for providing more relevant answers depending on the selected options.

Personal Intelligence was introduced as a paid service in January and then to US users in March, according to the provided report. This functionality shows the company's general direction in developing AI-based services with the use of personal context.

However, using personal information to improve responses is different from using information to personalise advertisements. The updated policy makes this distinction particularly important because data accessed to improve a service may also contribute to advertising personalisation under certain conditions.

Can Google Use Gmail, Drive and Photos Data for Advertising?

The new policy by Google shows that data obtained using connected services can be used to personalize both content and ads in Search. In such a way, data collected based on emails, documents, or images can be considered while determining the ads to be shown, provided that the user has set their preferences accordingly.

For example, data concerning travel booking in Gmail can be used to determine the meaning of the searches for activities or restaurants in that particular area. Information which can be used to personalize Search can also influence ads shown.

However, not every email, document, or image is used to determine the ads to be selected for every user. It depends on the services used and the settings specified by the user.

Google has also clarified that advertisers do not receive direct access to users' Gmail messages or personal photo libraries through this change. Instead, the concern is that information derived from personal content may be used by Google's systems to determine which advertisements are relevant.

The distinction is important, but users who prefer to keep their personal content separate from advertising may want to review their connected-service and ad-personalisation settings.

Google Says Sensitive Information Remains Excluded

Notwithstanding the policy modification, Google states that certain types of sensitive information like health and religious beliefs will continue to be prohibited from use for advertising purposes. The prohibition aims at ensuring that any personal sensitive data would not be used to select ads shown to the individual.

It needs to be emphasized that users cannot assume that any piece of information in emails, files, and photos is automatically prohibited. For example, trip plans, shopping preferences, etc., which are non-sensitive data, can be used for personalization of recommendations or advertising when appropriate options are selected.

Therefore, it is crucial to understand the difference between the limitations of sensitive information, permission to access data, and advertising preferences.

How to Stop Gmail, Drive and Photos Data From Influencing Ads

For individuals who would like the connected information about themselves to not affect their Google Search experience, there are a number of options that they can consider. The actual choices may vary based on the type of account, location of the individual and which Google services are being used.

One choice is to unlink Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos from Personal Intelligence. This may restrict the capabilities of Personal Intelligence as it may no longer be able to use information from these applications while creating customized responses and recommendations.

There are also personalized recommendations settings within Google Search that one can check out and turn off. Additionally, the My Ad Center feature of Google provides choices related to advertising personalization.

It is worth noting that these controls serve different purposes. Disconnecting a service from Personal Intelligence affects how connected data is used by that feature, while My Ad Center focuses on advertising preferences. Changing one setting may not automatically disable every form of personalisation across Google's products.

Users should review the available controls individually to make sure their preferences are applied where intended.

What This Means for Google Users

The change in the privacy policy of Google can be attributed to the increasing integration of AI-powered personal assistants, search functionality, and advertising networks. The Personal Intelligence allows for the improvement of the service through the ability to understand the context of its user; however, the access to the information based on the personal data can pose a problem in terms of using it for advertising purposes.

What matters for users is having the right to control their information and use it selectively. Users may like getting relevant recommendations for restaurants based on their hotel booking, yet they would not like for information extracted from their emails and personal files to affect advertising.

The update does not give advertisers an opportunity to browse Gmail inboxes, Google Drive files, and Google Photos albums; however, it makes checking one's personalisation settings increasingly important.

Ultimately, users should check their connected apps, Search personalisation preferences, and My Ad Center settings to understand how their information may be used. As AI features become more integrated into everyday services, transparency about data access and meaningful privacy controls will remain essential.