Google Policy Update Enables Gmail Content to Shape Search Ads

Google changed its privacy policy on October 16 to allow data from Gmail, Drive, and Photos to influence ad targeting. The update removed a previous clause that stated personalized ads were not based on content from these services. The new text includes an exception for users who make that data available to other Google services supporting personalized ads.

The change is tied to the Personal Intelligence feature, which began rolling out in beta at the start of the year. This feature allows Gemini to use data shared across Google applications, including Gmail, Photos, Search, and Drive. The policy indicates that turning on Personal Intelligence may enable this data sharing.

The updated policy explains that users can permit services like Search or Gemini apps to access data from other platforms. In exchange for a more personalized experience, Search may process this connected data to tailor content and ads. The document notes that advertisers will not see personally identifying information, such as names or email addresses, without explicit user permission.

The wording of the new policy is broad, but it clarifies that Google has not directly handed over inbox contents or photo libraries to advertisers. Instead, the language permits ads to be targeted using connected content in specific areas like Search. This shift marks a departure from earlier versions of the policy that explicitly excluded these services from ad basis calculations.

Personal Intelligence remains an opt-in feature for users. Individuals can review their settings by navigating to the Data and privacy section of their My Account page. From there, they should select Personalization settings and then choose Manage Personalized Recommendations in Search services.

This settings page includes a button to turn off personalized recommendations entirely. Disabling this option prevents the specific data linkage described in the new policy. The change was first identified by Android Authority and subsequently reported by The Verge.