Google used to say “Don’t be evil.” Now it says “Smart features are on,” and you get to find the off switch yourself.
Gemini has spread across Gmail this year, with summaries, to-do lists, drafted replies and voice commands. Many of the free features are enabled by default. To do any of this, Gemini has to read your email. That part isn’t in dispute. The real question is where that data goes afterward, and according to Engadget, the answer depends on which settings you’ve touched.
What Google promises
In an April 2026 statement, Google said it does not train its foundational models, Gemini included, on your personal emails. Gemini handles “isolated tasks” and, per Google, “doesn’t hold onto that data afterward.” A support page extends this to Workspace apps like Docs, Drive, Sheets, Calendar and Chat.
That’s a decent promise. But it’s a promise, and you can’t audit it. You’re trusting a company whose business model runs on data to police itself.
The “without permission” problem
Read the support page again. Google says it doesn’t use Workspace data to train outside models “without permission.” That qualifier matters. Connect your Workspace content apps to Search services, which powers AI Mode, and Google says it may use that data to improve services “for everyone, including by training generative AI models.”
Google also says Search doesn’t train directly on your Gmail inbox. Instead, summaries, excerpts, generated media and inferences drawn from your emails and files may be used to answer prompts, and Google trains its models on those. So the raw inbox stays out, but a distilled version of it can come in. For privacy purposes, that’s a distinction without much comfort. Inferences about you are still data about you.
How to turn it off
The steps differ slightly by platform, but the idea is the same:
- Open Gmail Settings (on mobile, the three-line menu, then Settings, then your account).
- Find Smart features and uncheck it.
- Open Google Workspace smart features, then Manage Workspace smart feature settings, and turn off both options.
- On the web, use the gear icon, See all settings, then the General tab. Save when done.
These settings apply account-wide, so you only do this once.
The tax for opting out
Here’s the catch. Disabling smart features can also kill spelling and grammar checks. That’s a nasty bit of bundling. Basic editing tools get tied to AI data access, and users who say no get a worse product.
If you’d rather keep Gemini but limit training exposure, change your Search Services History and Personalized Recommendations settings. Both default to your Web & App Activity and Search Personalization choices. You can turn off history, delete saved activity, adjust Save Media settings, or switch off Personalized Recommendations under Data & privacy, then Personalization settings.
The bigger picture
Default-on AI, buried toggles and features bundled with consent is the pattern across Big Tech. Opt-out design works because most people never opt out. Check your settings now, and don’t assume the defaults were chosen with you in mind.