Google privacy policy update opens door to Gmail and Photos data shaping ads in AI search
Ars Technica reports the change involves data users share through Personal Intelligence. Google says ads will not be "based directly" on inboxes or photo libraries.
Google updated its privacy policy on October 16. According to Ars Technica, the change appears to remove a long-standing limit on using data from Gmail, Drive and Photos for ad personalization. Ars Technica said the update was first spotted by Android Authority.
Ars Technica reported that the ad personalization section used to say: "We don't show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Photos." The outlet said the new wording allows data from those apps to be used for ads when it is shared with other Google services.
According to Ars Technica, that sharing happens through Personal Intelligence, a feature Google released in early 2026. It lets users connect data from several apps to Google AI products, including the Gemini app and AI Mode search. The Gemini app does not currently show ads, but AI search tools can show sponsored content. Ars Technica said the policy change appears to acknowledge that data shared with AI search through Personal Intelligence could feed into ad personalization.
Google said in a statement quoted by Ars Technica:
“"Connecting your apps is entirely opt-in. Ads will continue to be relevant to things like your query, the context of the response and your interests. Ads will not be based directly on your Gmail inbox or Photos library, and as always, sensitive information will not be used to tailor ads."”Google, company statement
A Google spokesperson told Ars Technica the clarification does not mean a change in how Google handles data with its advertising partners. According to the outlet, Google is not scanning whole inboxes to build ad profiles and is not passing this data to third parties.
The change matters because Gmail and Photos have long been treated as off-limits for ad personalization. Ars Technica read Google's statement as a roundabout confirmation that Workspace and Photos data may inform ads when users have Personal Intelligence switched on and use AI Mode. The outlet also said Google uses prompts and pop-ups to encourage people to turn the feature on without fully explaining what that means, so some users may have enabled it without realizing.
Some questions remain open. The source does not include the full text of the new policy wording. It is also not clear how much of a user's connected data ends up shaping ads, or how Google tells apart ads "based directly" on personal data and ads shaped by AI summaries of it.
According to Ars Technica, users who want to keep their personal data out of these ads can turn off the connected apps in the Gemini settings for Personal Intelligence. The same controls are in Google account settings under Data & privacy, Personalization settings, Manage Personalized Recommendations in Search Services, then Connected Content Apps.
