<div id="readability-page-1"><div><p>Another day, another “feature” turned on in a load-bearing app that you might want to turn off.</p><p>For Gmail users, there is an automatic opt-in that allows Google to use your emailed data (think: your personal and work messages, your attachments) to train its AI models. If you don’t want this information shared, you need to adjust your settings.</p><p>“IMPORTANT message for everyone using Gmail. You have been automatically OPTED IN to allow Gmail to access all your private messages &amp; attachments to train AI models,” Engineer Dave Jones shared on X earlier this week. “You have to manually turn off Smart Features in the Setting menu in TWO locations.”</p><figure><div><div><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/qfxTACz2JWG_BJX4_65KtA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04MzQ-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_huffington_post_584/b53fd0d18dd9c967f23ed2c368e344b3?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="630" height="423" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/qfxTACz2JWG_BJX4_65KtA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04MzQ-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_huffington_post_584/b53fd0d18dd9c967f23ed2c368e344b3"/></p></div></div><p></p><figcaption>Despite being automatically opted in, you don't need to consent to sharing your data. <span>via Associated Press</span></figcaption><p></p></figure><p>In the race for companies to get an ROI on AI, we’re already seeing language learning models running out of new, human-generated data to train on. And as HuffPost has previously reported, tools like AI assistants that automatically take meeting notes were already being considered an opportunity to passively gain data from users in work settings. (Even boring corporate meetings aren’t exempt!)</p><p>“Google uses information to improve our services and to develop new products, features and technologies that benefit our users and the public,” according to the company’s privacy policy. “For example, we use publicly available information to help train Google’s AI models and build products and features like Google Translate, Gemini Apps, and Cloud AI capabilities.”</p><p><strong>Tech: Forgot Your ID? iPhones Now Have A Convenient Solution — But Experts Warn It Comes With Risks.</strong></p><p>Notably, Bloomberg reports there is already a proposed class-action lawsuit against Google. Per the complaint, users are alleging that the company “secretly” turned on Gemini to “access and exploit the entire recorded history of its users’ private communications, including literally every email and attachment sent and received in their Gmail accounts.”</p><p>Google did not immediately answer HuffPost’s question about the process of opting users in and out of these features, or the class action lawsuit.</p><p>If you would like more control over how AI is used in your life (the Pew Research Center reports that 6 in 10 Americans share this concern), and would like to keep the data from your Gmail account being fed into the gaping maw of AI training, there’s some good news: You can turn it off.</p><p>Read on to find out how.</p><p><strong>Tech: The Latest iPhone Update Could Be Messing With Your Alarms — Here’s What You Should Know</strong></p><h2><strong>Turning Off Gmail’s AI-Training Opt-In</strong></h2><p>To get this feature turned off, you need to open up your settings and manually opt out in two different locations.</p><p>On desktop, you go to your settings (the little cog up in the top corner) and look in the “General” tab. There, you can do your first opt-out and unselect the “Smart features”</p><figure><div><div><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/lkD.EULSNMQLphT23kr1Ow--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_huffington_post_584/a6abacf157b4797987a0e82b048cf6d6?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="630" height="354" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/lkD.EULSNMQLphT23kr1Ow--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_huffington_post_584/a6abacf157b4797987a0e82b048cf6d6"/></p></div></div><p></p><figcaption>How to opt out of Google's &#34;smart features.&#34; <span>HuffPost/Google</span></figcaption><p></p></figure><p>Next, you click into the “Manage Workplace smart feature settings” (pictured above), and it will take you to a secondary pop-up that allows you to toggle on and off the features in Google Workspace and other Google products.</p><p>Opting out of the former will turn off the “Ask Gemini” feature that summarizes content, as well as personalized search and events from your email being automatically added to your calendar.</p><p><strong>Tech: This Sneaky Scam Is Targeting iPhone Users — And It’s Alarmingly Effective</strong></p><p>The latter will opt you out of features showing restaurant reservations and to-go orders in Maps, suggested tickets or loyalty cards to use in Wallet and answers, reminders and suggestions from Google Assistant and the Gemini app.</p><p>If you’re on mobile, you can change these settings by going to your settings page (located at the bottom of the inbox menu) and select “Data privacy.” From there, you can toggle off “Smart features” and click into the “Google Workspace smart features” menu to turn off the feature for Workspace and Google products again.</p><figure><div><div><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ki5B70Wi5KV5aUrGD0W97Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xMjQy/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_huffington_post_584/ed2254e9e96ddb6afb267663f056857b?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="630" height="630" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ki5B70Wi5KV5aUrGD0W97Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xMjQy/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_huffington_post_584/ed2254e9e96ddb6afb267663f056857b"/></p></div></div><p></p><figcaption>On mobile, find the &#34;data privacy&#34; in your settings menu to access the opt-out options. <span>Google/HuffPost</span></figcaption><p></p></figure><p>One annoying part of this is that some useful Gmail features we’ve gotten used to are eliminated by opting out. Things like “smart compose,” as well as the feature that automatically filters your emails into “promotional” and “social” inboxes, and even spell-check, grammar check and autocorrect are currently tied to the Gemini opt-in.</p><p>So, as you opt out of sharing your information, you might want to consider whether you’re ready to lose some features in exchange. And you’ll probably have to read your emails a bit more carefully.</p><p>But for many concerned with their privacy, that’s better than letting something else do it.</p><h3>Related...</h3><ul><li>Has Your iPhone's Memories Feature Emotionally Terrorized You? Here's How To Turn It Off.</li><li>Five Security Settings In iOS 12 You Should Change Right Now</li><li>This 1 New Instagram Feature Is A Privacy Nightmare. Here's What You Need To Consider Before You Activate It.</li></ul><p><strong>Read the original on HuffPost</strong></p></div></div>

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<p>Gmail users are automatically opted in to allow Google to use their email data to train AI models. Users can manually opt out by adjusting settings in two locations. This change has led to privacy concerns and a proposed class-action lawsuit against Google. Opting out may disable some Gmail features, but it offers more control over personal data usage.</p>

- Gmail users have been automatically opted in to allow Google to use their email data for AI training, requiring manual adjustment of settings to opt out.  
- A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges that Google secretly enabled features to access users' private communications without consent.  
- Users can disable these features in their settings, but opting out may result in the loss of certain helpful Gmail functionalities.

If You Use Gmail, You're Going To Want To Turn Off This 1 Automatic Setting ASAP