Google says your Gmails arent being used train its Gemini AI and
explains what Smart Features do instead

Date:
Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:08:23 +0000

Description:
Despite a recent report, Google says your emails arent being used to train
its Gemini AI model here's what's happening instead.

FULL STORY

Privacy and artificial intelligence are both a big deal right now, so it
wasn't a surprise to see recent claims that Google is using your Gmail to
train its Gemini AI model go viral. Fortunately, those claims were incorrect, as Google has now dismissed them as "misleading" and explained what's really happening.

According to the original (and now corrected) article from security firm Malwarebytes , you could keep your data out of Geminis hands by disabling Gmails Smart Features. However, Google has now pushed back, stating that it doesn't use Gmail content to train Gemini.

Googles response came as part of a statement given to The Verge , where
company spokesperson Jenny Thomson said: These reports are misleading we
have not changed anyones settings, Gmail Smart Features have existed for many years, and we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model.

Shortly after this statement was made, Malwarebytes corrected its original article. The updated piece noted that while the Gmail settings in question werent actually new, the way Google recently rewrote and surfaced them led a lot of people (including us) to believe Gmail content might be used to train Googles AI models, and that users were being opted in automatically.

So what are Smart Features?

The official explanation of Google's Smart Features in Gmail, Chat and Meet
is that they "use your content and activity in these products to personalize your experience in those apps".

What does that mean? Some specific examples include automatic email
filtering, smart compose (those text suggestions you get in email) and
summary cards above emails (which give you a quick synopsis of order
tracking, events and more). All potentially useful then, but not the same
thing as training Google Gemini.

You can check to see if Smart Features are turned on in Gmail by going to Settings > General and scrolling down to 'Smart features'. Here you'll see a check box for turning the setting on or off. Google says this should be
turned off by default, though some users have anecdotally claimed otherwise.

We've checked with Google to confirm that Smart Features are still opt-in for both Workspace and standard Gmail, and will update this article if we hear back.

Where did the confusion come from?

Malwarebytes clarified that after examining Googles documentation more
closely, it doesnt appear that Google is using your email content to train
its AI. While Google scans your emails to enable its Smart Features which include spam filters, email categorization, writing suggestions and more it does not do this to help train Gemini.

So, where did the confusion stem from? Malwarebytes claimed that Googles updated language around smart features is vague, and the term smart often implies AI especially at a time when Gemini is being integrated into other parts of Googles products . When the new wording started appearing for some users without much explanation, many assumed it signaled a broader shift", it said.

As well as that, this whole furore has happened around the same time as a proposed class-action lawsuit in California, which alleges that Google gave Gemini AI access to Gmail, Chat, and Meet without proper user consent, according to Malwarebytes.

If you were worried that Google was taking your private emails and feeding
them into an oblique AI algorithm, that doesnt appear to be the case. That said, Google hasn't always had the best reputation for user privacy, with numerous controversies erupting in the last few years. If you want a truly private email experience, there are plenty of good alternatives .

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/gemini/panic-over-google-say s-your-gmails-arent-being-used-train-its-gemini-ai-and-explains-what-smart-fea tures-do-instead

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