Google Denies Secretly Training Gemini on Your Gmail Data
Google has refuted claims that it is secretly training its Google Gemini AI on users' emails without their consent. In a statement shared with The Verge, Google spokesperson Jenny Thomson called the reports "misleading," emphasizing that the company has not altered any user settings and that Gmail's Smart Features have been available for many years. Thomson also stated that Google does not use Gmail content for training its Gemini AI model.
Despite Google's clarification, some users on X expressed concern over the potential use of their private email communications for AI training. One user even referred to it as "the largest consent manufacturing operation in history." These concerns were echoed in a blog post by Malwarebytes, an antivirus software firm, which reprinted some of the claims.
A social media post directed readers to manually turn off Smart Features, Gmail's AI-powered productivity tools, as it claimed all Gmail users were automatically opted in to allow Gmail to access their private messages and attachments for AI training. However, Google's Workspace Privacy Policy clarifies that while data shared directly with Gemini, such as prompts, may be retained and used for AI training, data from Google Workspace apps like Gmail is not used for AI training or automatically accessed by Gemini.
This is not the first time Google has faced false reports about Gmail. In September, similar false reports claimed that Google had issued a security warning to all Gmail users, urging them to change their passwords immediately. The company has also faced scrutiny for leveraging users' data without proper permission in the past, agreeing to pay $1.375 billion in May 2025 for allegedly harvesting Texans' biometric data without consent.
While the claims about Gmail harvesting user data for AI training may be false, concerns about tech firms using user data for AI training are understandable, especially in regions with stricter data protection laws like the EU. As more firms announce plans to use user data for AI training, it's crucial to understand the privacy policies and settings available to users to protect their data.
