Desk: Concern has once again increased regarding the privacy of Gmail users. A tech expert has claimed that Google can access users’ email data to train its AI models. According to reports, some such smart features are turned on by default in Gmail, due to which AI can have access to private messages and attachments. This is why users are now being advised to check their settings themselves and make necessary changes.

Engineering YouTuber and tech expert Davery Jones posted on X warning that Gmail users are already opted-in for AI training. According to him, Gmail can train AI models by giving access to your personal emails and attachments. Calling it a serious issue, he said that users will have to manually close the settings by going to two different places.

According to the report, Gmail’s Smart Features and Workspace Smart Features can access users’ data. With the help of these features, tools like Ask Gemini, Content Summary, Smart Suggestions and Google Assistant work. Experts believe that these AI features largely depend on inbox data. This is the reason that by turning them off, Gmail’s AI integration is also removed to a great extent.

Desktop or laptop users will have to go to See all settings in Gmail and go to the Smart features section. Here Turn on smart features on Gmail, Chat, and Meet will have to be unchecked. After this, clicking on Manage Workspace smart feature settings will open a new pop-up. Here it is also necessary to turn off smart features to Google products and Google Workspace, so that AI access can be completely stopped.

Google has clearly rejected these allegations and said that Gmail data is not used for AI training. According to the company, user data is used only for feature functions and processing. However, many cyber security experts believe that AI features like Gemini are overly invasive. Additionally, the complex settings of Gmail confuse common users, which further increases doubts about privacy.