Google Privacy Policy Update Lets Gmail, Photos Data Shape Ads

Google has changed its privacy policy in a way that could bring targeted ads based on your personal content. The update, effective October 16th, adds an exception to the company's long-standing promise not to use Drive, Gmail or Google Photos data for personalized advertising.

The earlier wording simply said Google would not do that. The new text adds: "unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads."

Who is affected

The change matters for people who have connected Drive, Gmail or Google Photos to AI Mode and other Search tools through the Personal Intelligence feature. That connection lets the tools give better answers and recommendations because they know more about you. Under the new terms, the same access may also be used to personalize ads.

Google's policy says Search may process some of the data you allow it to access "to personalize content, including ads." It also says that, depending on your settings, you may see ads based on your interests and activity across Google services. The example it gives: searching for "mountain bikes" in Search could lead to sports equipment ads on YouTube.

The policy includes limits. Advertisers do not get access to your Drive, Gmail or Photos information, or to personally identifying details such as your name or email address. Google also says it will not show ads based on sensitive categories such as race, sexual orientation, religion or health.

How to opt out

The feature is tied to a choice. If you do not want your personal data used for targeted ads, you can disconnect individual apps from Search's Personal Intelligence features. You can also turn off Personalized Recommendations entirely on the Search Services Personalization settings page.

The update shows the trade-off of AI personalization: the more access you grant an assistant to improve its answers, the more your data may feed the advertising business behind it. Users who enabled these connections for convenience may want to review their settings.