TZUTC: -0500
MSGID: 1743.consprcy@1:2320/105 2d89af75
PID: Synchronet 3.21a-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0
TID: SBBSecho 3.28-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0
BBSID: CAPCITY2
CHRS: ASCII 1
FORMAT: flowed
Google says your Gmails arent being used train its Gemini AI and
explains what Smart Features do instead

Date:
Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:08:23 +0000

Description:
Despite a recent report, Google says your emails arent being used to train 
its Gemini AI model here's what's happening instead.

FULL STORY

Privacy and artificial intelligence are both a big deal right now, so it
wasn't a surprise to see recent claims that Google is using your Gmail to
train its Gemini AI model go viral. Fortunately, those claims were incorrect,
as Google has now dismissed them as "misleading" and explained what's really
happening. 

According to the original (and now corrected) article from security firm
Malwarebytes , you could keep your data out of Geminis hands by disabling
Gmails Smart Features. However, Google has now pushed back, stating that it
doesn't use Gmail content to train Gemini. 

Googles response came as part of a statement given to The Verge , where
company spokesperson Jenny Thomson said: These reports are misleading  we 
have not changed anyones settings, Gmail Smart Features have existed for many
years, and we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model. 

Shortly after this statement was made, Malwarebytes corrected its original
article. The updated piece noted that while the Gmail settings in question
werent actually new, the way Google recently rewrote and surfaced them led a
lot of people (including us) to believe Gmail content might be used to train
Googles AI models, and that users were being opted in automatically.

So what are Smart Features?

The official explanation of Google's Smart Features in Gmail, Chat and Meet 
is that they "use your content and activity in these products to personalize
your experience in those apps". 

What does that mean? Some specific examples include automatic email 
filtering, smart compose (those text suggestions you get in email) and 
summary cards above emails (which give you a quick synopsis of order 
tracking, events and more). All potentially useful then, but not the same
thing as training Google Gemini. 

You can check to see if Smart Features are turned on in Gmail by going to
Settings > General and scrolling down to 'Smart features'. Here you'll see a
check box for turning the setting on or off. Google says this should be 
turned off by default, though some users have anecdotally claimed otherwise. 

We've checked with Google to confirm that Smart Features are still opt-in for
both Workspace and standard Gmail, and will update this article if we hear
back.

Where did the confusion come from?

Malwarebytes clarified that after examining Googles documentation more
closely, it doesnt appear that Google is using your email content to train 
its AI. While Google scans your emails to enable its Smart Features  which
include spam filters, email categorization, writing suggestions and more  it
does not do this to help train Gemini. 

So, where did the confusion stem from? Malwarebytes claimed that Googles
updated language around smart features is vague, and the term smart often
implies AI  especially at a time when Gemini is being integrated into other
parts of Googles products . When the new wording started appearing for some
users without much explanation, many assumed it signaled a broader shift", it
said. 

As well as that, this whole furore has happened around the same time as a
proposed class-action lawsuit in California, which alleges that Google gave
Gemini AI access to Gmail, Chat, and Meet without proper user consent,
according to Malwarebytes. 

If you were worried that Google was taking your private emails and feeding
them into an oblique AI algorithm, that doesnt appear to be the case. That
said, Google hasn't always had the best reputation for user privacy, with
numerous controversies erupting in the last few years. If you want a truly
private email experience, there are plenty of good alternatives . 

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/gemini/panic-over-google-say
s-your-gmails-arent-being-used-train-its-gemini-ai-and-explains-what-smart-fea
tures-do-instead

$$
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
 * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
SEEN-BY: 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/14 305 153/7715 154/110 218/700
SEEN-BY: 226/30 227/114 229/110 206 300 307 317 400 426 428 470 664
SEEN-BY: 229/700 705 266/512 291/111 320/219 322/757 342/200 396/45
SEEN-BY: 460/58 633/280 712/848 902/26 2320/0 105 304 3634/12 5075/35
PATH: 2320/105 229/426