That flight confirmation sitting in your Gmail. The holiday photos in Google Photos. For five years, Google promised none of it would ever be used to pick the ads you see. That promise now has an asterisk, and if you use Google’s new AI features, it could apply to you.
Google quietly updated its privacy policy on October 16, 2026. The new text says content from Gmail, Drive and Google Photos can help personalise ads if you choose to connect those apps to other Google services that show ads, mainly through a feature called Personal Intelligence in Search. The change drew attention this week after The Verge, Ars Technica and others spotted it.
Quick Facts
- Who: Google
- What: Privacy policy now allows Gmail, Drive and Photos data to shape ads, but only if you connect those apps to services like Search
- When: Policy took effect October 16, 2026; widely reported October 23
- Where: Google’s global privacy policy, tied to Personal Intelligence in Search, AI Mode, Maps and Shopping
- Key number: The “no Gmail-based ads” pledge had stayed unchanged across 17 policy versions since July 2021
What Google Changed in Its Privacy Policy
Back in July 2021, Google added a clear line to its privacy policy: it does not personalise ads based on content from Drive, Gmail or Google Photos. Simple and easy to remember.
The October 16 version keeps that line but adds a condition. Google still won’t do it “unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads.” The policy also now says Search may process data it is allowed to access to personalise content, “including ads.”
Another small wording change matters too. Ads used to be based on your “interests and activity.” Now they can be based on “interests, activity, or personalized content from Google services.”
What Is Google Personal Intelligence?
Personal Intelligence is Google’s way of making its AI feel like it actually knows you. When you switch it on, Gemini and Google Search can read from apps you connect, such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Photos.
Google’s own example: you have a hotel booking in Gmail, so Search suggests restaurants or things to do near that hotel. Handy, sure. But the same understanding of your trip could now also tell Google which travel or food ads to show you.
The feature launched in beta in January 2026 for paying US subscribers. At its I/O event in May, Google announced plans to take it to nearly 200 countries. Around the same date as the policy update, Google also confirmed it was testing ads in AI Mode for Personal Intelligence users.
Is Google Reading Your Emails for Ads?
Not exactly, and the details matter here. According to Google’s help pages, as reported by PPC Land, ads “will not be based directly” on your emails or photos. Instead, Search works with summaries, excerpts and inferences drawn from that content, and those can be used for ads. For a short email, though, the “summary” may simply be the whole email.
Google also says:
- Advertisers do not get access to your inbox or photo library.
- Your name and email address are not shared with advertisers without permission.
- Sensitive categories such as health, religion, race and sexual orientation remain off-limits for ad targeting.
- Gemini app chats are not used to show ads.
One catch worth knowing: connecting an app once gives access to all of Google’s Search services, including AI Mode, Discover, Maps and Shopping. There’s no separate checkbox that asks, “Is it okay to use this for ads?”
Why This Matters for Indian Gmail Users
India is one of Google’s biggest markets. For a lot of people here, Gmail is where the train tickets, bank alerts, Swiggy receipts and job offers all end up, and Google Photos holds years of family memories.
If Personal Intelligence reaches your account and you tap “connect” without much thought, your Diwali shopping receipts or that Goa booking could start nudging the ads you see in Search. Nobody is going to read your email out loud to a brand. But it’s still a big change from the old blanket promise.
Students and young professionals who like trying new AI features should pay the most attention. You’re the people most likely to switch these features on.
What We Don’t Know Yet
- Whether Personal Intelligence with connected apps is fully live for users in India, and on which plans.
- How Google separates sensitive details (say, a hospital appointment email) from regular inferences.
- When ads in AI Mode for these users will move beyond testing.
What This Means for You: How to Opt Out
Good news first: this is opt-in. If you never connected Gmail or Photos to Search, nothing changes for you. If you did, or aren’t sure, here’s how to check:
- Open your Google Account and go to Data & privacy.
- Under Personalization & activity, tap Personalization settings.
- Choose Manage Personalized Recommendations in Search Services.
- Find Connected Content apps and disconnect Google Workspace and Google Photos.
You can also turn off ad personalisation completely in My Ad Center. Keep in mind that disconnecting doesn’t erase data already stored in your Search Services History, so delete that too if you want a clean slate.
Our Take
Google isn’t breaking its promise outright, but it has made the promise a lot harder to rely on. “We never use your Gmail for ads” was easy to understand. “We don’t, unless you connected it to a feature that also does ads” is fine print. If AI assistants are going to know our lives this well, users deserve a clear, separate yes-or-no question about ads, not a sentence buried in a policy update.
FAQs
Does Google use my Gmail to show ads now?
Not by default. Only if you connect Gmail to Google services such as Search through Personal Intelligence can summaries and inferences from it help personalise ads.
When did Google change its privacy policy?
The updated policy took effect on October 16, 2026, and was widely reported from October 23.
Can advertisers see my emails or photos?
No. Google says advertisers get no access to your inbox or photo library, and your name and email address aren’t shared with them without permission.
How do I stop Google Photos data being used for ads?
Disconnect Google Photos under Connected Content apps in your Search personalisation settings, or switch off ad personalisation in My Ad Center.
Does Gemini show ads based on my chats?
Google’s Gemini Apps privacy documentation says Gemini chats are not used to show ads.
You can read the full text in Google’s Privacy Policy.
Based on reporting by The Verge, Android Authority, PPC Land and Tech Insider.
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