> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://all-about-ai.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Google changes policy to let connected private data inform ads - URL: https://all-about-ai.ghost.io/news/google-changes-policy-to-let-connected-private-data-inform-ads/ - Published: 2026-10-24T14:54:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T14:54:35.000Z - Description: Search may use summaries and inferences from connected Gmail or Photos content to personalize ads. Disconnecting apps and switching off ad personalization are separate choices. - Author: Frontier Models Desk - Tags: News, everyday-ai, google, gemini Google changed its privacy policy on October 16 to allow information from Gmail, Drive or Google Photos to inform personalized ads when users make that data available to another Google service that supports them. For people connecting Gmail or Photos to Search for more useful AI answers, the tradeoff is concrete: information extracted to tailor a recommendation may also help choose an advertisement. The [policy change](https://policies.google.com/privacy/archive/20261001-20261016?hl=en&ref=all-about-ai.ghost.io) adds an exception to Google’s previous blanket statement that it did not personalize ads based on content from those three services. It does not automatically open everyone’s inbox to advertising. The documented Search route requires an app connection and personalization settings, while advertising has its own controls. How private content can inform an ad [Google’s Search documentation](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/16859283?hl=en&ref=all-about-ai.ghost.io) says summaries, excerpts and inferences drawn from connected Gmail or Photos content may personalize both responses and ads. Google says advertisers cannot access the underlying inbox or photo library. The advertising signal can therefore come from what Search extracts or concludes about the content, without handing that content to an advertiser. Google’s example of the benefit is easy to understand: AI Mode, its conversational Search experience, can use hotel reservations and information about previous trips to recommend restaurants near an upcoming destination. Its documentation says the same derived information may be used for ads. That establishes a permitted use, not proof that a particular reservation caused a particular advertisement. There is also a live experiment. [Search Engine Land reports](https://searchengineland.com/google-begins-testing-ads-in-ai-mode-for-users-with-personal-intelligence-enabled-496990?ref=all-about-ai.ghost.io) that Google confirmed a test of ads in AI Mode for people who opt into Personal Intelligence, its personalization feature. Connected-app insights or summaries may help personalize those ads. The report does not establish a universal rollout, and its confirmation comes from Google rather than an independent audit of the data flow. Google says ads are not based “directly” on the inbox or Photos library, but does not define the technical boundary between direct use and using an excerpt or inference. It also maintains its prohibition on personalized ads based on sensitive categories such as health, religion, race or sexual orientation. Its privacy policy says identifying information such as a name or email address is not shared with advertisers unless the user asks it to be. The choices enabling Search access go beyond simply having Gmail. An eligible adult must use a personal Google Account, enable **Personalized Recommendations** and explicitly connect Workspace or Photos through **Additional Personal Intelligence Connected Content Apps** in Search Services Personalization. Workspace also requires Gmail’s **Smart features in other Google products** setting. Photos requires Face Groups, selecting your own face and enabling Estimate missing locations. That connection grants access across Search services, including Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News, rather than only the AI Mode conversation where the benefit may first appear. Availability varies by region and language. Google also warns that settings are being updated, so account interfaces may differ. The distinction between Search and Gemini matters. Search currently lists Gmail and Calendar within its Workspace connection, with other Workspace apps coming later. Drive appears in the broader policy exception, but the documentation does not establish a current Drive-to-ads implementation. Gemini can separately connect to Drive through Workspace. However, its [Privacy Hub, updated October 23](https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961?hl=en&ref=all-about-ai.ghost.io), says Gemini Apps chats are not being used to show ads. That statement covers chats; it is not a blanket promise about every transfer between Google services. The evidence supports a specific Search advertising path, not a claim that every Gemini connection now feeds ads. Reversing the Search choice requires deciding what to stop: connected access, advertising personalization or retention of past activity. Those controls perform different jobs. 1. Review Search Services Personalization in your Google Account and disconnect Workspace or Photos under Additional Personal Intelligence Connected Content Apps to stop that connected access. 2. Turn off personalized ads in [My Ad Center](https://myadcenter.google.com/?ref=all-about-ai.ghost.io) to stop saved account information from personalizing Google ads. 3. Review and delete relevant Search Services History at [My Activity](https://activity.google.com/?ref=all-about-ai.ghost.io) to remove activity already saved there. [Turning off personalized ads](https://support.google.com/My-Ad-Center-Help/answer/12155656?hl=en&ref=all-about-ai.ghost.io) does not disconnect apps, stop personalized recommendations or erase history. Ads still appear and can reflect context, including an active search. Conversely, disconnecting an app or deleting an original email does not delete Search Services History, which Google says may still be used for product improvement, including AI training. Its documentation does not settle whether retained connected-app information continues to influence ads after disconnection. Our read is that anyone considering these connections should judge the advertising use alongside the promised recommendations. A restaurant suggestion drawn from a booking email can be useful. Whether information from that email should also help select ads deserves an equally deliberate choice.