Google Quietly Updates Privacy Policy to Let Gmail and Photos Data Feed Ads

What it claims

Google changed its privacy policy, in effect since 16 October 2026, and added a condition to its long-standing pledge about Gmail, Drive and Google Photos. The policy now says Google does not show personalized ads based on content from these three services "unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads." Android Authority first reported the change.

How it works

The trigger is Personal Intelligence, the Google feature that lets AI Mode in Search and Gemini read a user's connected apps. The article's example is AI Mode finding a hotel reservation in an inbox. Under the new wording, the same connected data can also decide which ads the user sees. The policy sets no separate ad consent: connecting the apps for AI answers is the opt-in.

Google states three limits:

• Content from the three services is not used for ad targeting by default.
• Advertisers do not get access to the contents of Gmail, Drive or Photos.
• Google will not share personally identifying details without permission.

How to use it

The page gives two ways to opt out:

1. Disconnect the apps under Connected Content apps in the Google Account's Data & privacy settings.
2. Turn off personalized recommendations.

The page does not say which of the two removes the ad use completely. It also does not say whether turning off recommendations disconnects the apps from Gemini and AI Mode.

Limits

Android Authority notes that data collected before an opt-out may stay in a user's Search history after the apps are disconnected. The article does not explain how to delete that data. It also does not say whether Google Workspace accounts follow the same policy.

Decrypt places the change next to two earlier Google moves it reported in May 2026: Chrome silently installed a multi-gigabyte on-device AI model, and Google removed a privacy claim about its Gemini Nano model.