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You need to act now<\/p>\n
dpa\/picture alliance via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Updated Nov. 22 with Google\u2019s response to the viral backlash to Gmail\u2019s upgrade.<\/p>\n
Google is now upgrading Gmail \u2014 the world\u2019s most popular email platform serving 2 billion users. But these upgrades come at a steep price and that has now triggered a backlash. Now you must decide carefully, before choosing what to do next.<\/p>\n
The backlash itself should come as no surprise. I have warned before<\/a> that the new AI \u201cspace race<\/a>,\u201d stitching AI enhancements through all Google\u2019s products \u2014 and those from Microsoft and others, needs careful handling. <\/p>\n Harvesting your data for AI training has been the red flag, but the fact you\u2019re allowing someone else\u2019s cloud service to analyze your private data is an even wider issue.<\/p>\n Google\u2019s latest updates, it says, \u201cgive you more choice and control over your data, and do not alter our underlying data handling practices or our robust privacy commitments.\u201d But as ever with AI, the reality lurks in the small print.<\/p>\n ForbesOne Click Reveals If Your iPhone Or Android Is Being Secretly TrackedBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIMPORTANT message for everyone using Gmail,\u201d engineer David Jones<\/a> posted on X. \u201cYou have been automatically OPTED IN to allow Gmail to access all your private messages & attachments to train AI models. You have to manually turn off Smart Features in the Setting menu in TWO locations. Retweet so every is aware.\u201d<\/p>\n As MalwareBytes<\/a> explains, \u201cthe reason behind this is Google\u2019s push to power new Gmail features with its Gemini AI, helping you write emails faster and manage your inbox more efficiently. To do that, Google is using real email content, including attachments, to train and refine its AI models. Some users are now reporting that these settings are switched on by default instead of asking for explicit opt-in.\u201d<\/p>\n Google denies that it using this data for AI model training. The company\u2019s Workspace team has now told me that \u201cthese reports are misleading \u2013 we have not changed anyone\u2019s settings, Gmail Smart Features have existed for many years, and we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model. Lastly, we are always transparent and clear if we make changes to our terms of service and policies.\u201d<\/p>\n Google gave the same statement to Snopes<\/a>, whose team then investigated whether AI features are indeed enabled by default. \u201cWe followed the instructions posted in the X post above to manage the smart features setting and found it was checked by default. We did this in one professional inbox and two personal inboxes that used the Google Workspace platform and found it was the same for all three.\u201d<\/p>\n This is that differentiation between cloud AI access outside the privacy enclave you may think applies to your private data, and the use of AI for model training. The choice you need to make is whether to allow AI to access your data. The secondary choice is whether that data is available to human analysts and used for moidel training.<\/p>\n Get used to this. As Google ramps up its AI upgrades and Microsoft confirms a controversial strategy<\/a> to turn Windows into an agentic AI hub, you need to stop and think before glibly using all the upgrades on offer. At least make a conscious decision you\u2019re willing to have your data accessed \u2014 once it starts, it\u2019s difficult to reverse.<\/p>\n Google says \u201cby default, smart feature settings are off if you live in: the European Economic Area, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom.\u201d Most of those reading this do not, and so you should decide if you want to opt in and check your settings now. <\/p>\n