AI news · Google · ad privacy
Google’s privacy policy lets connected Gmail data shape ads
Since 16 October, people who link Gmail, Drive or Photos to Google’s Personal Intelligence may see ads based on what Search draws from that data.
Google has put a condition on a promise it first printed in July 2021: that it does not choose personalised ads from what sits in your Gmail, Drive or Google Photos. The privacy policy dated 16 October 2026 keeps that sentence and adds an exception for people who make that data available to other Google services that support personalised ads, The Verge reports, after Android Authority spotted the edit.
The policy names Search and the Gemini apps as examples. Personal Intelligence is an opt-in switch that gives AI Mode access to your Gmail, Drive and Photos for more tailored answers. The new wording says Search can use what it draws from that data to personalise content, ads included.
Google says the inbox itself stays hidden from advertisers, and that it does not aim ads at sensitive categories such as health, religion, race or sexual orientation. None of the 54 earlier versions in Google’s policy archive carried a carve-out like this one, PPC Land found after comparing them line by line. You can disconnect apps from Personal Intelligence in Search’s personalisation settings.
Gemini itself runs from a free tier through Google AI Plus at $4.99 and Pro at $19.99 to Ultra from $99.99 a month on our price sheet, read 23 October 2026. The policy text ties the ad exception to connecting apps and names no plan.
No advertiser can buy an audience built from inboxes, so any gain from this data never shows up as a segment in your reports and arrives only inside Google’s own auction.
Sources
- The Verge: Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads. Checked
- PPC Land: Google lets connected Gmail and Photos data shape ads, 5 years after pledge. Checked
Alexandre S.
Alexandre S. is a creative ad strategist and copywriter with ten years' experience in digital marketing across multiple channels.
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