Emily Long is a freelance author based in Salt Lake City.
After graduating from Duke University, she spent multiple years reporting on the national workforce for Government Executive, a publish of Atlantic Media Company, in Washington, D.C. She has nearly a decade of cognition as a freelancer covering tech (including issues connected to security, privacy, and streaming) as fine as individual backing and travel.
In supplement to Lifehacker, her activity has been featured on Wirecutter, Tom’s Guide, and ZDNET. Emily has additionally worked as a journey guide about the U.S. and as a satisfied editor. She has a masters in social activity and is a licensed therapist in Utah.
If you've opted in to Google's "Personal Intelligence" characteristic in the hopes of receiving additional tailored AI responses from Gemini, there's a fine chance that additional of your data than you acknowledge is being used for targeted advertising. In a latest privacy guideline update, Google quietly added an elimination to how it handles data from Drive, Gmail, and Photos to personalize the ads you see—but there's a way to opt out.
Google may use satisfied from Google apps to power targeted ads
As Android Authority reports, Google typically doesn't personalize ads according to satisfied from Drive, Gmail, or Google Photos by default. However, the guideline now makes these data accessible for that intent if you've connected these apps to another Google services—like Personal Intelligence—that do assistance personalized ads. Personal Intelligence is the opt-in Gemini feature launched before this twelvemonth that links alongside another Google apps to provision you additional tailored, contextual responses in Gemini and Google Search's AI Mode.
While this flat of personalization can be useful, the privacy guideline loophole method that satisfied you don't explicitly portion in hunt or AI interactions could motionless be used to communicate which ads you're served. Google's privacy guideline motionless states that it does not portion personally identifiable data alongside advertisers, and the business has additionally said that it doesn't scan your inbox, photos, and records and that ads volition not be based "directly on your Gmail inbox or Photos library." It's not apparent how the business volition grip the mismatch, but if you're at all concerned, you can choose to disconnect those apps from Personal Intelligence.
You can disconnect Google apps from Personal Intelligence
Personal Intelligence is opt-in by default, but as Ars Technica points out, users are presented alongside opportunities to allow this characteristic and nexus apps to it without realizing it or understanding the possible consequences of doing so.
You can inspect whether any of your Google satisfied apps are connected to Personal Intelligence and disable them if you'd prefer. In your Google Account, tap Data & Privacy. Under Personalization & activity, choose Personalization settings, afterward click Manage Personalized Recommendations in Search Services. Select Connected Content Apps under Additional Personal Intelligence and disconnect any apps you don't desire granted access.
Emily Long is a freelance author based in Salt Lake City.
