Google says it may use Gmail and Photos data for targeted ads
Google said it may use data from Gmail and Google Photos for targeted advertising. On October 24, 2026, The Verge AI reported that Google updated its policy, stating that users who connect Drive, Gmail, or Google Photos to search tools such as AI Mode through the Personal Intelligence feature may have their content used to serve targeted ads; Google also said that advertisers will not receive this data or identity information such as names and email addresses, and that ads will not be targeted based on sensitive categories such as race, sexual orientation, religion, or health, and that users can disconnect the relevant apps on the search service's personalization settings page or completely turn off personalized recommendations. On October 26, heise online reported that Google added a new exception clause to its privacy policy, allowing personalized ads to be served based on content from Gmail, Google Drive, or Google Photos when users make that data available to services that support personalized advertising, such as Search and Gemini; users can turn off personalized recommendations in search services in the account's "Data & privacy" settings, but data already collected will not be deleted as a result. There is currently no further development with evidence.
Matched fieldsTitle
View story:Google says it may use Gmail and Photos data for targeted ads