Google can now target ads using your Gmail, Drive and Photos if you connect them to its AI
Google's Oct. 16 privacy policy lets it personalize ads from Gmail, Drive and Photos data you share with AI features like Search. How to opt out.
The skim
- Google's privacy policy, updated Oct. 16, now says it can show you personalized ads based on your Gmail, Drive and Google Photos content if you make that data available to Google services that support ads.
- In practice, that means people who connect those apps to Search's AI features through Personal Intelligence.
- Advertisers don't see your emails or photos, and Google says it won't target ads on sensitive categories. You can disconnect apps or turn the feature off.
What changed
The old wording was a flat promise. Google's privacy policy, effective Oct. 16, 2026, now reads: "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 change was spotted by Android Authority and reported by The Verge on Thursday.
The policy also gives an example: "Search may process some of the data that you allow Search to access to personalize content, including ads."
Who it affects
The choice the policy refers to is Personal Intelligence, which lets AI Mode, other Search tools and Gemini pull from your Gmail, Photos, Drive and other apps to give more personal answers. It began rolling out in beta earlier this year and is still opt-in, 9to5Google reports. If you never connected those apps, nothing changes for you.
If you did, the trade is now explicit: the same connection that makes AI answers more personal can also shape the ads you see in Search. Google's policy still says it doesn't share information that personally identifies you, like your name or email, with advertisers unless you ask it to, and that it doesn't target personalized ads on sensitive categories such as race, religion, sexual orientation or health.
How to opt out
- Go to your Google Account, open Data & privacy, then Personalization settings, and choose Manage Personalized Recommendations in Search services.
- Disconnect the apps you don't want Search to use, or turn Personalized Recommendations off entirely.
- To limit ad personalization more broadly, use My Ad Center.
Why it matters
Google has kept Gmail content out of ad targeting for years. This doesn't reverse that for everyone, but it ties a long-standing privacy line to an AI feature Google is pushing hard. Anyone weighing whether to connect their inbox to Search's AI now has an ads question to add to the list.
Sources: Google Privacy Policy, The Verge and 9to5Google.
