For the past few days, the claim has been making rounds on social media that Google is secretly using Gmail data to train its AI models. The post warning that your emails and attachments are being used for Gemini brain power has spread like wildfire, accusing the tech giant of quietly changing its privacy policy for its own benefit. The alleged fix, according to the viral post, is to turn off Gmail’s “smart features,” like spell checking and predictive text, to avoid being part of an AI experiment.

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Important message for everyone who uses Gmail.
You have automatically chosen to allow Gmail to access all your private messages and attachments to train the AI ​​model.
You have to manually turn off smart features in the Settings menu in two places.

Retweet so everyone is aware. pic.twitter.com/54FKcr4jO2-Dave Jones (@eevblog) 19 November 2025

Google says this is simply not true. In a statement to The Verge, company spokesperson Jenny Thomson flatly rejected the claims. “These reports are misleading – we haven’t changed anyone’s settings, Gmail smart features have been in place for many years, and we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI models,” she said.

Still, this story has caused so much concern that many users are going into their Settings to see what’s turned on or off.

What’s Really Going On With Gmail’s Smart Features?

Much of the confusion appears to have stemmed from an update Google released in January, which allowed users to manage different “Smart Features” across different services. For example, you can now disable them in Google Workspace (which includes Gmail, Calendar, and Docs) without turning them off for Maps, Wallet, or other apps.

However, as The Verge reported, the settings were quietly reset, re-enabling features they had previously opted out of. It’s unclear how widespread that glitch may have been, but it has fueled suspicions that Google is being secretive about its AI ambitions.

Those smart features do much more than correct typos. They power things like automated flight additions to your calendar, order tracking, and email summaries. When you turn them on in Workspaces, the app states that “You agree to let Google Workspaces use your Workspace content and activity to personalize your experience in Workspaces.”

This may sound ominous, but Google emphasizes that personalization does not mean data extraction. It uses contextual understanding to improve your personal experience, not to boost your Gemini AI. In other words, your emails help Gmail work better for you, not for Gemini.

Gemini 3 made headlines

The Gmail debate comes as Google draws attention to its newest and most sophisticated AI system, Gemini 3. The company describes it as capable of interpreting information with human-like depth and nuance, taking its AI tools into new creative and analytical territory.

CEO Sundar Pichai said the model brings together Google’s research into multimodal understanding, long context reasoning, and agentic behavior into a single system. “Gemini 3 is the cutting edge of reasoning, built for understanding depth and nuance, whether it’s picking up subtle clues in a creative idea, or separating the overlapping layers of a difficult problem,” he wrote in a blog post.

Pichai said Gemini 3 “is also much better at detecting the context and intent behind your request, so you get what you need with less prompting. It’s amazing to think that in just two years, AI has evolved from simply reading text and images to reading the room.”

The model can process a wide range of content, from handwritten notes and dense research papers to video lectures, and Google suggests it could be used to digitize recipes, summarize educational content, or break long videos into step-by-step explanations.

So, is Google secretly turning your inbox into an AI classroom? According to the company, absolutely not. But as AI tools become increasingly integrated into everyday apps, it’s no surprise that users are double-checking the fine print. A quick look at your Gmail settings might not reveal any dark secrets, but at least you’ll know who’s actually reading your emails.