Google Gmail Ads: Check Your Personal Intelligence Settings
Google changed its privacy policy wording on Gmail data and ads. Here’s what changed and how to check whether Personal Intelligence is enabled.
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On 16 October 2026, Google updated its privacy policy. A sentence disappeared from the section on ad personalisation: “We don’t show you personalised ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail or Photos.” In its place is conditional wording that allows for this possibility when data is shared with other Google services. If you use Gemini or AI Mode in Search, this may affect you too.
What the Google privacy policy change means
Google has not suddenly started scanning your inbox for advertising purposes - the company explicitly denies doing that. What has changed is that Google has confirmed in writing that a route exists for data from Gmail or Photos to indirectly influence the ads you see. That route runs through Personal Intelligence, launched in early 2026, which connects app data to AI products - including AI Mode in Search, where sponsored content already appears.
Google stresses that connecting apps is entirely opt-in, meaning it is off by default and users have to enable it. That’s the good news. The less reassuring part is that many people may have agreed when first setting up Gemini without reading what they were connecting. So the first step is to check whether it’s enabled on your account - not to assume it isn’t.
What changed in Google’s privacy policy
Android Authority first spotted the change. The previous wording was categorical, leaving no room for interpretation: data from three specific services was outside the advertising system. The new wording is conditional - it allows for that data to be used in advertising if it has been shared with other Google services.
| Item | Before 16 October | After 16 October |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy policy wording | Clear exclusion for Drive, Gmail and Photos | Conditional wording allowing for exceptions |
| Ads in the Gemini app | None | None (at the time of writing) |
| Ads in AI Mode in Search | Sponsored content present | Sponsored content present |
| Personal Intelligence | Available from early 2026, opt-in | Unchanged, opt-in |
| Sharing data with advertising partners | Google says it does not share data | Unchanged: Google says it does not share data |
A Google spokesperson told Ars Technica that the policy clarification does not change how the company handles data shared with advertising partners. Google says it does not scan your entire inbox to enrich your advertising profile or pass that data to third parties.
Google’s response - and what it leaves unsaid
Google’s full statement says that connecting apps is entirely optional; ads will continue to be matched to your query, the context of the response and your interests; ads will not be based directly on your Gmail inbox or Photos library; and sensitive data will not be used to match ads.
The key word is “directly”. If Personal Intelligence is enabled and you ask a question in AI Mode, summaries and insights from your data could influence the response. And because response context is one of the signals used for ads, personal data becomes part of the targeting process - just one step removed from literally scanning your inbox. That is our editorial view, not a statement from Google: the company’s wording may be literally accurate, but the practical effect for users is similar.
What this means for users in the EU
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Digital Markets Act apply across the European Union. In practice, this means that connecting data between Google services requires separate, informed consent, rather than being enabled by default. If Personal Intelligence is active on your account, that means consent was given - perhaps during installation, an update or the assistant’s first launch.
The available source material does not establish whether Personal Intelligence is fully available in every country or whether the European version of Google’s privacy policy uses identical wording. Google often varies its policy language for the EU. Check your own settings: there may not be one answer that applies to everyone.
Businesses should also consider whether employees using Google Workspace can independently connect work data to AI tools. When customer correspondence or documents covered by professional confidentiality are involved, this is a risk that administrators, not end users, should control.
How to check your Google privacy settings
- Go to myaccount.google.com and open Data & privacy. Start by checking whether you have an active connection between your apps and AI services.
- Look for Personal Intelligence or connected-app settings in the Gemini app - usually in the profile menu, under connected services. If Gmail, Drive or Photos appears in the list of active sources, you have granted access.
- Disconnect those sources if you don’t knowingly use answers based on your own email. You gain privacy but lose some response context - a real trade-off, not a straightforward win.
- Check My Ad Center (myadcenter.google.com) to see which interest categories Google has assigned to you. It’s the quickest way to check whether your profile seems suspiciously accurate.
- Turn off ad personalisation in Ad Center if you want to stop personalised ads at the source. Ads won’t disappear, but they will no longer be tailored to you.
- If you manage Google Workspace at your organisation, open the admin console and check whether users can connect work data to AI tools themselves. Set the policy at the organisational level.
- Set a calendar reminder for three months from now. Privacy policies can change quietly, without notification. A journalist, not an email from Google, spotted this change.
How connected Google services affect privacy
The issue is not just one sentence removed from a document. It is that Google wants its products to work together and sees the breadth of its data as a major advantage in the AI race. Gmail still has protected status in Google’s data-handling system, but there are more ways for that data to flow out of it. The more you share across the ecosystem, the greater the risk - a trade-off no setting can reverse, only limit.
Sources
Ars Technica: Updated Google privacy policy says your Gmail might be used for advertising, October 2026. Android Authority first noticed the change in the document. Google’s privacy policy was updated on 16 October 2026.
