Google’s Gemini AI Sparks Privacy Concerns with Gmail Data Access

Google faces mounting criticism after revelations that its Gemini AI model has been analyzing users' Gmail inboxes through an opt-in-by-default setting. Security researcher Jones exposed how the system scans calendars, emails, and attachments—raising alarms about undisclosed data harvesting for AI training.

The controversy centers on Smart Features, an integrated system across Google Workspace apps. While marketed as productivity tools, the automatic enrollment has left users questioning when the feature activated and what personal data was accessed. "You've been automatically included to let Gmail feed your private messages to AI models," Jones warned on X, detailing the manual opt-out process buried in settings.

Google's defense of the practice as "enhanced productivity features" fails to address the Core privacy violation—the presumption of consent. The incident underscores growing tensions between AI development and user autonomy, mirroring blockchain's own struggles with transparent data practices.