Posted on Oct 25

Google privacy policy and Gmail ads: the 18-word exception

#google #privacy #ai #news

Google changed one sentence of its privacy policy on October 16, 2026, and the change decides whether the content of your Gmail, Drive and Photos can influence the ads you see. The old Google privacy policy said Google doesn't show you personalized ads based on that content. The new one adds an exception for data you choose to make available to other Google services that support personalized ads. This article reads the exact words, explains the opt-in connection behind them, and lists what Google says does and does not reach advertisers.

TL;DR

The Google privacy policy sentence about Drive, Gmail and Photos went from 15 words to 33: Google added an 18-word clause, "unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads."
The exception applies to people who turn on Personalized Recommendations and connect Google Workspace (currently Gmail and Google Calendar) and Google Photos to Search services. Android Authority reports that the content is not used for targeted ads by default.
Google's help page says ads will not be based directly on your Gmail inbox or Photos library. It adds that Search may reference summaries, excerpts and inferences from them, and that information may be used to show you ads.
Google says advertisers get no access to your inbox or photos, and sensitive categories (race, religion, sexual orientation, health) stay off limits.
To opt out, disconnect the apps under Connected content apps or switch off Personalized Recommendations in Search services.

What did the Google privacy policy say before October 16?

The version of the policy effective October 1, 2026 has a short list under the heading about personalized services. Three lines matter here. First, Google says "We don't show you personalized ads based on sensitive categories, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or health." Second, "We don't show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Photos." That second line has 15 words. Third, "We don't share information that personally identifies you with advertisers, such as your name or email, unless you ask us to."

What is the new Google privacy policy wording?

Google publishes a comparison page that marks insertions in green and deletions in red. Here is the middle line in the version effective October 16, 2026:

In plain text: "We don't show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Google Photos, unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads." The inserted clause is 18 words, and "Photos" became "Google Photos". The lines above and below it did not change.

The comparison page shows three more edits. A new paragraph says you may choose to allow services "like Search or Gemini Apps" to access data from other Google services, "subject to the policies and settings of the accessing service", and that "Search may process some of the data that you allow Search to access to personalize content, including ads." The ads paragraph now says Google may show personalized ads based on "your interests, activity, or personalized content from Google services", and its example ("mountain bikes" searches leading to sports equipment ads on YouTube) gained the words "in Search". A key-terms entry for Personal Intelligence uses a hotel booking as its example: Search "may use information about booking details from an email to help suggest things to do near your hotel."

How does Google Personal Intelligence connect Gmail and Photos?

Google's Search Help page describes the connection. You must be 18 or older, signed in to a personal Google Account, and have Personalized Recommendations enabled. Then, under Additional Personal Intelligence, you choose Connected Content Apps and connect Google Workspace (currently Gmail and Google Calendar, with other Workspace apps listed as coming soon) and Google Photos. The page says the connection is not available in every country, and that connecting Photos is not available in all regions.

Two details are easy to miss. The privacy policy names Drive, while the help page's connect list names Gmail, Calendar and Photos. And the help page says connecting means "all Search services will be permitted to access" those apps. Google lists Search with AI Mode and Discover, Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News as Search services.

Does Google use Gmail and Photos content to target ads?

Google's answer, from the same help page, is carefully worded: "Ads will not be based directly on your Gmail inbox or your Google Photos library." It continues: if you connect your content apps to Search services, "Search may reference summaries, excerpts and inferences from these sources to personalize your experience and do things for you. That same info may be used to show you ads, so they are even more helpful for you."

So the claim has two layers. The inbox itself is not the ad input. Summaries and inferences that Search builds from it may be. Google also answers the advertiser question directly: "No. If you connect your content apps to Search Services, advertisers will not have access to your Gmail inbox or Google Photos." Android Authority, which spotted the change, writes that this does not mean Google automatically scans your private emails and photos, because the exception concerns information users choose to share with eligible services. The Verge adds that Google won't show ads based on sensitive categories.

The 2017 comparison explains why people reacted. In June 2017 Google said consumer Gmail content "will not be used or scanned for any ads personalization after this change." That promise concerned scanning the inbox, which Google's cloud chief linked to business customers who hesitated to trust Google with sensitive data. The 2026 exception concerns apps you connect to Search. Different mechanism, same inbox, nine years apart.

How do I stop Gmail and Photos data from reaching Google ads?

Android Authority's route, which matches the setting names Google uses:

Open your Google Account and go to Data & privacy.
Under Personalization & activity, choose Personalization settings.
Choose Manage Personalized Recommendations in Search Services.
Find Connected Content apps under Additional Personal Intelligence.
Disconnect Google Workspace and Google Photos.

You can instead turn Personalized Recommendations off entirely on the Search Services Personalization page. Android Authority warns that disconnecting an app doesn't necessarily erase what Google already saved: data stored in Search Services History may remain even after you disconnect the app or delete the original email or photo.

There is one more line on the help page worth reading before you connect anything: "Please don't connect your Google content apps if they contain personal or confidential information that you wouldn't want to be used for training generative AI models." Google says Search services do not train generative AI models directly on your Gmail inbox, Drive, Calendar or Photos library, and that it trains on summaries, excerpts, generated media and inferences from them.

What is still unknown about the Google privacy policy change?

Google's statement to Ars Technica says connecting your apps is "entirely opt-in" and repeats that "Ads will not be based directly on your Gmail inbox or Photos library". Ars reads that as "essentially a roundabout way of confirming that Workspace and Photos data may inform ads". The policy names Gemini Apps as a service that can access data from your other Google services, and the policy text does not say whether ads appear there; Ars says the Gemini app does not currently have ads, though you may see sponsored content in AI search tools. In the EU, Google's Digital Markets Act page describes a separate choice to link services including Search, YouTube and ad services, and I could not tell from Google's pages how that choice meets this exception. A Hacker News commenter quoted that page in the discussion of The Verge's report, which had 362 points when I read it.

Also in this episode: Sweden blocks ChatGPT and Claude on staff computers

The mirror image of Google asking you to connect your mail to an AI arrived the same week. According to Sveriges Radio's Ekot, the Swedish Government Offices will block ChatGPT and Claude on staff computers from Monday, October 26, and direct staff to approved services including Microsoft Copilot, whose security was raised after a review. Digitalization director Mikael Wettercrantz declined an interview but wrote on the intranet that using AI services without an agreement can have "consequences for our information security" (my translation). The tax agency and the institutions agency already block the tools, the enforcement agency is deciding, and an internal audit at the transport agency found widespread, risky use of about ten AI services. Some Government Offices staff keep access through a platform the Offices built themselves.

Verdict: NEEDS REVIEW

I stamped the Google privacy policy change NEEDS REVIEW. The exception is opt-in, Google says advertisers don't get your inbox, and the sensitive categories stay excluded. I would still review it, because the promise now depends on a setting in Search, and the ad input Google describes is made of summaries and inferences that Search builds from your content. Check the setting once, decide, and move on.

FAQ

Does the Google privacy policy let Google read my Gmail for ads?

Google's wording is that ads will not be based directly on your Gmail inbox. If you connect Gmail to Search services, Search may reference summaries, excerpts and inferences from it, and that information may be used to show you ads.

Is Google Personal Intelligence turned on by default?

No. Google's help page says you must enable Personalized Recommendations and connect your content apps yourself, at age 18 or older.

How do I disconnect Gmail and Google Photos from Search?

In your Google Account, open Data & privacy, then Personalization settings, then Manage Personalized Recommendations in Search Services, and disconnect Google Workspace and Google Photos under Connected content apps.

Did Google ever scan Gmail for ads?

Yes. Google said in June 2017 that it would stop scanning consumer Gmail content for ads personalization.

Sources

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