Google firmly denies: no, Gemini is not trained with your Gmail emails
A viral rumor, a misunderstood setting, and a helpful reminder about trust in AI. Recently, social media platforms like X and Threads have been buzzing with a concerning claim: Google is secretly using your Gmail emails to train Gemini, its AI model. Alarmist posts circulated widely, pointing to a setting called “Smart features and personalization” and urging users to disable it immediately.
However, this claim is based on a misinterpretation of an old setting, not on any recent change.
In response, Google felt compelled to publicly clarify the situation and quell the ensuing panic.
A Rumor Originating from an Old Setting
The heart of the misunderstanding lies in a Gmail option that has existed for years, designed solely to enable features like automatic tab sorting, Smart Compose auto-completion, and the recognition of receipts or booking confirmations to help organize your emails.
There’s nothing new here, nothing related to Gemini—most importantly, nothing that feeds general-purpose AI models.
To diffuse the situation, Google was unequivocal: “Gemini is not trained on the content of Gmail emails.”
Let’s set the record straight on recent misleading reports. Here are the facts:
• We have not changed anyone’s settings.
• Gmail Smart Features have existed for many years.
• We do not use your Gmail content to train our Gemini AI model.
We are always transparent and…
—Gmail (@gmail) November 21, 2025
This clarification was necessary, especially considering how quickly misinformation spread; some specialized media outlets even reported the claim before issuing corrections.
Why Did This Escalate So Quickly? The Times Are Anxious.
This incident highlights a very particular technological climate: users are more distrustful than ever of AI and how their data is managed.
Concerns have been fueled by numerous controversies surrounding mass data scraping, privacy issues with cloud services, fierce competition among OpenAI, Google, and Apple, and the arrival of Apple Intelligence, which is marketed as a “privacy by design” model.
In this context, even the slightest ambiguity can be interpreted as a conspiracy.
A Matter of Trust, Not Just Technology
For Google, the situation is complex: Gmail has over a billion users, many of whom rely on it for business through Workspace. Even unfounded suspicions of email data mining can significantly undermine trust.
This rumor should serve as a wake-up call for Mountain View: if a long-standing setting can be interpreted as a gateway for AI, its title and description are no longer clear enough for the modern user.
Analysis: A Revelatory Yet Useful Controversy
Honestly, I empathize with the panic. Tech giants don’t have the best track record regarding transparency, and we live in a time where AI evolves so rapidly that it sometimes outpaces corporate communication efforts.
But the facts remain: Gmail does not provide raw material for Gemini.
If Google wants to prevent such crises from recurring, it must increase its educational efforts—since if settings remain ambiguous, the internet will always conjure up the worst-case scenario.
