On 16 October, Google rolled out a revised privacy policy that removes a long‑standing restriction on using data from Gmail, Drive and Photos for ad targeting. The change, first reported by Android Authority, means the company can now use content from these apps to inform advertising when it is shared with other Google services.
Under the previous policy, Google had made it clear that “We don’t show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Photos.” The new wording replaces that explicit safeguard with a more ambiguous clause that opens the door for such data to be used in advertising contexts.
“We don’t show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Photos,” the earlier document said.
The update is linked to Google’s Personal Intelligence feature, launched in early 2026. Personal Intelligence allows users to feed data from multiple apps into Google AI products, providing richer context for better answers. However, the feature also creates a potential privacy minefield, as the same data could be leveraged for advertising purposes.
Google remains the world’s largest advertising company, and its use of personal data has long been a point of scrutiny. The policy shift raises questions about how the company will balance AI enhancement with user privacy.
While the new language does not spell out every scenario in which Gmail or Photos data might be used, it signals a significant shift from the firm’s earlier stance and underscores the growing intersection between AI services and targeted advertising.
<small>Source: Ars Technica — read the original story there.</small>
