![\"Gmail](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1751189469_872_960x0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Decide carefully as new upgrade confirmed.<\/p>\n
dpa\/picture alliance via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Republished on June 29 withy new AI privacy rankings and Google\u2019s standings.<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s 2 billion Gmail users face a critical decision, as the company upgrades the world\u2019s leading email platform to make more use of AI. This means Google\u2019s cloud-based AI accessing all your content \u2014 however personal and sensitive.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve warned before that Gmail users need to understand the risks<\/a> before using all these new default updates. It\u2019s no accident or surprise that Gmail\u2019s AI upgrades conflict with its quasi end-to-end encryption<\/a> upgrade. One is secure, the other is not.<\/p>\n The issue with smart AI search<\/a> and smart AI replies<\/a> has been privacy \u2014 pure and simple. This week, all Android users have been hit with similar warnings, as a poorly written email from Google seemed to suggest AI would access sensitive apps \u2014 including Messages and WhatsApp \u2014 even if Gemini Activity is disabled.<\/p>\n ForbesSamsung\u2019s Next Android Upgrade\u2014\u2018Even Better\u2019 Than PixelBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cGemini will soon be able to help you use Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities on your phone, whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off,\u201d the email told users. As Gizmodo<\/a> reported: \u201cGoogle to Gemini users: We\u2019re going to look at your texts whether you like it or not.\u201d And understandably, everyone read that email the same way.<\/p>\n Google has now told me this is misleading \u2014 the update \u201cis good for users.\u201d Android phones will \u201cuse Gemini to complete daily tasks on their mobile devices like send messages, initiate phone calls, and set timers while Gemini Apps Activity is turned off.\u201d<\/p>\n What that actually means is that turning off Gemini Activity doesn\u2019t stop it working on phones, which would have happened before. But \u201cwith Gemini Apps Activity turned off, Gemini chats are not being reviewed or used to improve our AI models.\u201d<\/p>\n Before, if you wanted to use Gemini with messaging apps, you\u2019d need to keep Gemini Activity on which would mean those interactions being saved. That\u2019s a privacy nightmare and it\u2019s what Google has in effect fixed. This choice is good news.<\/p>\n This welcome clarity reflects user concerns. But that\u2019s what is still missing in the Gmail AI debate, which has been more a take it or leave it offer. I would like to see the same transparent and easy privacy choice for Gmail as well, before this goes much further.<\/p>\n One note of caution. Any use of Gemini on Android does still save interactions for 72-hours within your account, even if Activity<\/a> is turned off. Keep that in mind.<\/p>\n And the privacy warnings have not gone away. Per Android Headlines<\/a>, \u201cGoogle\u2019s Gemini AI will soon be able to access apps like Phone and Messages, even if \u2018Gemini Apps Activity\u2019 is off, starting July 7, 2025. While Google clarifies that turning off activity still prevents data from being used for AI training, the change sparks user privacy concerns, balancing convenience with trust in Google\u2019s data handling.\u201d<\/p>\n This new report warns that \u201cdeeper integration inevitably brings legitimate concerns to the forefront for many users. The prospect of an AI having access, even if temporary, to highly personal data within call logs, private messages, and WhatsApp chats immediately raises red flags regarding individual privacy and overall data security.\u201d<\/p>\n Gen AI and LLM Data Privacy Ranking 2025<\/p>\n Incogni<\/p>\n This was always going to happen \u2014 it was clear from the early days of Gemini\u2019s integration into email and messages and other apps, just as it\u2019s clear with the new news that WhatsApp is to do the same<\/a> with its own users\u2019 messages.<\/p>\n As Futurism<\/a> puts it, \u201cWhatsApp is now offering AI summaries of text threads for those too lazy to read through their messages themselves\u2026 Because what says \u2018I care\u2019 like breezing through an AI-generated summary of the family group chat?”<\/p>\n A balance needs to be struck, and the risk is that users do not know enough yet about the complex web of privacy polices to make those decisions. And that is especially true when it comes to younger users, who have not yet developed any privacy awareness.<\/p>\n But now as TechRadar<\/a> warns, \u201cGoogle is rolling out Gemini for schools and students amidst concerns for the future of education across the globe,\u201d which means \u201cGemini is coming to a school near you, whether you want it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n With Gemini now promising \u201cto assist with everything from lesson planning to real-time feedback, [its] expansion also raises tough questions about AI\u2019s long-term role in education and how it may reshape learning itself.\u201d The risks are high.<\/p>\n