Google is rolling out AI upgrades across Gmail that have sparked user concerns about privacy. The changes affect 2 billion Gmail users worldwide. According to Forbes, many users discovered that AI features were enabled by default in their accounts. People must manually turn off these features in two separate settings locations.
Default Settings Raise Privacy Questions
Engineer David Jones posted a warning on X about the automatic opt-in. He said Gmail now accesses private messages and attachments to train AI models. MalwareBytes explains that Google uses real email content to power new Gemini AI features. These features help users write emails faster and manage inboxes more efficiently.
Google’s Workspace team denies changing user settings without permission. The company states it does not use Gmail content for training its Gemini AI model. Smart Features have existed for many years, the team adds. But Snopes investigated and found the features were checked by default in three test accounts. The setting applied to both professional and personal inboxes using Google Workspace.
Two Types of Data Access
Users face two separate choices. First, they must decide whether to allow AI access to their data. Second, they choose if that data becomes available to human analysts and model training. Google says smart features are off by default in the European Economic Area, Japan, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Users in other regions need to check their settings now.
Changes Extend Beyond Email
The smart features also exist in other Google Workspace apps. These include Google Drive and Google Meet. Snopes found that Drive Settings automatically opted users into features requiring Gemini to access content. This pattern appeared in both professional and personal accounts.
Google states these updates give users more choice and control over data. The company says it does not alter underlying data handling practices. But the opt-in matrix across multiple AI tools makes privacy policies hard to understand. Most users will likely give little thought to these settings. The settings may not have reached all accounts yet, but they will soon arrive for everyone.
