Google has updated its privacy policy to allow information from connected apps to influence personalised ads, while testing ads in AI Mode for some opted-in users. The important distinction: this is about information users choose to connect to Google’s AI features, not advertisers getting direct access to their inbox or photo library.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
The change took effect on 16 October, according to Search Engine Journal. Its report says the policy adds an exception for information from Gmail, Google Photos and Drive when users make that data available to other Google services that support personalised ads. The article says the change mainly affects people who opt into Personal Intelligence in Gemini or AI Mode in Search.
Google says ads are not matched directly to raw emails or photos. Instead, summaries, excerpts and inferences from connected sources may be used to personalise ads. Google is also testing ads in AI Mode for users with Personal Intelligence enabled.
Why it matters
Connecting an assistant to personal information can have consequences beyond the answer it gives. For opted-in users, information shared to make assistance more personal may also affect which ads appear. Google says advertisers cannot access connected Gmail or Photos libraries, and that sensitive categories such as health are excluded from personalised ads.
The controls matter too. The report says users can turn off personalised ads in My Ad Center, but that may not stop connected apps feeding information into AI features. Disconnecting those apps is the way to remove them from Personal Intelligence entirely.
Our read
This makes the trade-off clearer: personal context may improve an AI feature, but it can also become part of ad personalisation. If you do not want connected-app information used that way, check your Search personalisation settings and disconnect the apps from Personal Intelligence. A settings maze is not quite the same thing as a simple choice, but at least the distinction is worth knowing.
What to watch
- Whether Google expands the AI Mode ad test beyond its current rollout.
- Whether Google adds dedicated reporting or controls for these ads.
- Whether connected-app signals affect ads outside AI Mode.
Discussion spark: If connecting your inbox or photos makes an AI assistant more useful, should that also permit those signals to shape ads, or should advertising require a separate opt-in?
Sources and evidence
- Source update (27 October 2026, 17:11 UTC)
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