Google may use Gmail and Photos data for ads. Your employer is still responsible

Google has changed its privacy policy: data from Gmail, Google Photos and Drive may be used for targeted ads when users connect those services to AI features such as Personal Intelligence. Google says advertisers see neither the data nor personal details, that sensitive categories such as race, religion or health are excluded, and that users can disconnect the apps or switch off personalised recommendations (The Verge).

The feature itself was reported in January by heise: Gemini draws on Gmail, Photos, search and YouTube history, opt-in, first for paying subscribers in the US. The new policy gives that opt-in an advertising side effect. Data protection authorities, such as the Swiss commissioner, are clear that existing data protection law applies to AI directly, whatever a vendor's wording says this month.

The risk for a company is not Google. It is the employee who connects the business mailbox, customer photos or a shared drive to a personal AI feature because it is convenient. The company stays responsible for that data. The answer is not a ban but a clear rule about which accounts may be connected to which features.

Rules only work when people understand them. Workers who know how these settings work are worth more to every employer, and that knowledge is part of every course we run for people looking for their next job.

Practical step: check which AI features are switched on in your workspace accounts, who may connect what, and write it down.