An alleged piece of news has circulated in recent days regarding the introduction starting from October 10th by Google of a new feature on Gmail, called AI Enhanced Classification and Reviewwhich would have allowed Gemini-based artificial intelligence to automatically analyze the contents of our emails without explicit user permission. Naturally the news has caused some concern regarding the violation of privacybut it has always been one fake news. Not only are there no official communications from the Cupertino giant regarding this alleged AI functionality: Google has released a press note in which officially denies it this news.
The “kernel of truth” lies in the fact that Google actually offers optional smart functions that can access the contents of the email to understand context and intentions. If you prefer to maintain the highest level of confidentiality, you can disable these optional features. Google declares that the contents of Gmail are not used for targeted advertising or sold to third parties, but gives users the possibility to limit any processing, so no one prohibits you from Prevent Gmail’s AI from reading your messages by turning off the options just mentioned.
In some regions – such as the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Japan – these features are disabled by default, in line with local data protection regulations. If you are in one of the areas just mentioned, theoretically you do not have to do anything, unless you have enabled these options yourself, even inadvertently.
What are Gmail Smart Features
Le intelligent features they are a set of Google Gemini AI-powered tools that simplify daily operationsFor example, automatically adding a flight received via email to your calendar, saving tickets in Google Wallet, or tracking an incoming package via a summary card in Gmail. All this happens thanks to automatic processes that read structured information in emails, such as dates or booking numbers. If you deactivate these functions, Gmail will no longer be able to carry out these operations proactively and will continue to function normally for sending and receiving messages, exactly as it happened before the “AI era” into which we find ourselves catapulted today.
Regarding privacy, Google specifies that the data you enter into Workspace – therefore e-mails, documents, etc. – they are not sold to third parties. In this information page, in fact, Google is keen to specify the following:
Interactions with Workspace intelligent features, such as accepting or rejecting spelling suggestions or reporting spam, are anonymized and/or aggregated and may be used to improve or develop useful Workspace features such as spam protection, spell checking, and autocomplete.
How to disable Gmail’s AI features
If you wish disable Gmail’s AI featureshere’s how to proceed from computer.
- Log in to Gmail and click on the icongear at the top right and click on View all settings.
- Select the tab General and scroll the menu to the section dedicated to smart features.
- Disable the options Smart Writing, Smart Answer, Shipment tracking, Remind And Smart featuresclicking the appropriate options and following the instructions provided on the screen.
If you prefer to proceed viaGmail app that you have installed on yours smartphone/tabletdo it this way:
- Open the Gmail app, tap the button ≡ and touch Settings.
- Scroll to the section General and uncheck a Smart features (depending on your device you may need to tap the item first Data privacy).
- Press up End (if requested).
