AI Scanning Your Google Products
We have said this before, and we will say it again: technology features are added and turned on (opt-in) to most products by default, and it’s up to you to stay up to date and turn off (opt-out) the features you don’t need, want, or trust. In this post, we’ll take a look at Google Gemini AI and the settings you should review.
Gemini AI Scanning Google Products
AI is presented as a way to help you manage your life. However, for AI to help you manage your life, you need to give it access to and control over your information. The more information you provide, the less information is under your control. The information you provide gets shared and used by the vendor; in the case of Gemini, it’s Google (Alphabet) that gets your data. Once the data is no longer in your control, you are at the mercy of who the vendor shares your information with. What are they going to do with the information, outside of helping you manage your life? There may be reasons you can benefit from AI helping you manage your life, but the choice of information you share should be up to you, the user, and not just share everything turned on by default.
Turning Off Gemini AI In Google Products
To work at its best, Gemini needs to scan Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google Photos to answer questions, summarize threads, and help you write documents/replies. With all Gemini features turned on, Gemini and, in turn, Google get access to your private messages, medical/financial records, family pictures, and more. I may benefit from an assistant helping me manage my life, but at the same time, I don’t know how much information I want to share with any vendor. Once you share it and they have it, they can do whatever they want with it, and you no longer have control or may not even be told what they are doing with it or, even worse, who they are sharing your information with.
The settings you need to check involve logging into your Google account, and then
- selecting the cog (usually on the top right) and selecting the See all settings option.
In the next window that opens, under the General Tab, scroll down until you find the Google Workspace smart features. Select the Manage Workspace smart feature settings in that section.
A pop-up window opens; we suggest turning off both features if you don’t want AI to access your data. If you just want to limit it so Gemini doesn’t access Gmail and files, turn off the Smart features in Google Workspace.
The rules are a little different if you have a paid Google Workspace account vs. a personal Google account. For those with just a personal (which means FREE) account, see what Google lists on their help page.
- Now go back to the settings page and scroll down to Smart features. Uncheck the box in that setting. If you leave this box checked, Gemini will still scan your Chat and Meet content.
Final Thought
The more you share, the more the vendor (technology company) has control over, and the less you have control. In the case of Gemini, Google (Alphabet) has numerous rules they list as ways they protect your data. However, your data is in their hands, and most of the data breaches these days involve data that is out of your control when breached. You need to consider how much information you trust to be exposed.
Sources:
- Google – Google Help
