Google updated its privacy policy, effective October 16, 2026, to say that if you let services such as Search or Gemini access data from other Google services you use, including Google Photos, Gmail and Drive, that data can be used to personalize content and ads. The policy gives the example that “Search may process some of the data that you allow Search to access to personalize content, including ads,” as quoted by The Hacker News, which credits Android Authority with first reporting the change.
The default is unchanged: the policy says Google does not show personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail or Photos “unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads.” The link is Personal Intelligence, a Gemini feature Google introduced in January 2026 that connects apps like Gmail, Photos and YouTube to give tailored answers. According to The Hacker News, it is rolling out in beta to eligible adults worldwide except the European Economic Area, Switzerland, the U.K. and Nigeria. In its reading, if Personal Intelligence is on and you use AI Mode or Gemini, the data behind those answers, such as email or photo content, could become a signal for targeted ads. The Hacker News describes the update as the policy making clear that feeding personal data into Google’s AI tools can contribute to ad personalization.
How to check if you’re affected
Affected products are Google accounts where Personal Intelligence or similar app connections are turned on, in the regions listed above.
- In your Google account, review which apps are connected to Personal Intelligence and disconnect the ones you do not want Search or Gemini to read.
- Per The Hacker News, you can also turn off personalized recommendations entirely under Search Services Personalization settings (google.com/search-personalization).
- Review the policy text yourself in Google’s privacy policy; we could not load the changed wording directly because the page is rendered by script, so the quotes above come from The Hacker News.