Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads

Google has updated its terms to indicate that content people share to improve AI recommendations may also be used to serve them more personalized advertising. The change affects users who have linked services such as Drive, Gmail, or Google Photos to AI Mode and other Search tools through Google's Personal Intelligence feature. By connecting those services, users let the tools draw on more personal information to produce responses and recommendations, and that same content may now inform targeted ads.

Google says advertisers do not receive access to users' Drive, Gmail, and Photos information or to personally identifying details such as names or email addresses. The company also says it will not show ads based on sensitive categories, including race, sexual orientation, religion, or health. The updated language states that Search may process some of the data users permit it to access in order to personalize content, including ads, subject to the policies and settings of the service doing the accessing.

Google's terms describe how such personalization can work in practice, noting that depending on a user's settings, personalized ads may be based on interests, activity, or personalized content from Google services. The company offers the example of a user who searches for mountain bikes in Search and may then see ads for sports equipment on YouTube.

Users who want to keep their personal data out of targeted advertising have options. They can choose which apps to disconnect from Search's Personal Intelligence features, or they can turn off Personalized Recommendations entirely through the Search Services Personalization settings page.

The disclosure matters for U.S. consumers because Gmail, Drive, Google Photos, and Search are widely used across the country, and the settings in question determine whether content stored in those services informs the ads they see. The terms place the choice with users, who control which services are linked to Personal Intelligence and whether personalized recommendations are enabled.

More AI news from TechManNews.