We received information that Google has changed their privacy settings in Gmail. In order to protect your privacy in gmail and prevent your emails and Google Docs work activity from being data mined by Google’s AI, you are now required to:
1) Go into your gmail settings by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right part of the gmail window.
2) Click on “See All Settings” in the Quick Settings window.
3) Scroll down to “Smart Features” and Uncheck “Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet”
4) It will require you to reload Gmail to set this setting. Allow it to do so.
5) Go back into the settings via steps 1 and 2
6) Scroll down to “Google Workspace smart features:” and click on “Manage Workspace smart features settings”
7) Turn off both Smart Features toggles and Save.
For users who do not have a gmail email account but who still access other Google apps, you will need to adjust the privacy setting in either Google Calendar, Google Chat, Google Drive, or Google Meet on a web browser. There is no other way to turn this setting off otherwise.
The instructions for each can be found here on the Google Drive Support site:
For users interested in information about Google’s data mining:
- Google Data Mining: An In-Depth Look at the Methods and Impact of the Tech Giant‘s Data Practices
https://expertbeacon.com/google-data-mining-an-in-depth-look-at-the-methods-and-impact-of-the-tech-giants-data-practices/ - How Google is Mining YOUR Personal Data to Build Its AI Juggernaut: Everything You Need to Know!
https://gazetteller.com/how-google-is-mining-your-personal-data-to-build-its-ai-juggernaut-everything-you-need-to-know - How Do You Solve a Problem Like Google Search? Courts Must Enable Competition While Protecting Privacy
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/02/how-do-you-solve-problem-google-search-courts-must-enable-competition-while
That’s it! Please let us know if anyone has any questions or concerns.