Does Google use your Gmail and Photos for ads? Here's what changed

Published Nov 3, 2026, 9:30 AM EST Victor is a Features Author at Android Police with several years' experience in writing about tech. His focus is on Android, apps, software and Google products. He's particularly interested in how smartphones and the software that runs on them impact our day-to-day lives. He likes to look at new features, find out how the apps work and then explain the technology in an accessible way. Outside writing, he enjoys playing FPS games, going for runs and catching up with his favourite series. I'm fine with Google apps working together, but I'd like to understand what happens to my personal information when that happens. With Google's updated privacy policy, information from Gmail and Google Photos can now be used to personalize ads in some situations. This raises an important question: Does Google use everyone's emails and photos for ads, or does it depend on which services you connect to? One detail in Google's updated policy caught my attention My personal data isn't automatically becoming advertising material Google's previous data policy said it didn't show personalized ads based on content from Drive, Gmail, or Google Photos. This made it clear that users' private files and conversations weren't used to decide which ads they saw. The updated policy, effective October 16, 2026, adds an exception. Google still says it won't show personalized ads based on these services unless users choose to share their data with other Google services that allow personalized ads. The new policy doesn't mean every inbox is automatically used for ads. Google's policy says people can let certain services, like Search and Gemini, access info from other Google services. Search can then use user info to provide personalized experiences, including ads. That's not the same as Google using every Gmail message and Google Photos image for ads. The change concerns information shared through connected services. Still, this distinction doesn't erase privacy concerns. Some people might be fine with Google using their email to find a hotel reservation, but not with that info affecting the ads they see. Linking Google apps can affect ads Search can use info from connected apps Google's Search help page says users can connect Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Photos, and other Google apps to Search. When connected, Search can use information from those apps to provide more personalized responses. For example, AI Mode might review a hotel booking in Gmail to suggest nearby restaurants. This connection goes beyond the main Google Search page. Google's documentation lists services like Discover, Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate, and News. There's also an advertising angle. Google says Search may use summaries, excerpts, and inferences from connected apps to personalize your experience. That same info can also be used for ads. Google says advertisers cannot access private inboxes or photos. It's important to distinguish between using info to personalize an ad and giving advertisers access to the original material. Google clearly says ads won't be based directly on a user's Gmail inbox or Google Photos library. It also says advertisers won't have access to those inboxes or photo libraries. But that doesn't mean connected info has no role in ads. Google says summaries, excerpts, and inferences from connected content can affect the ads you see. It also says it doesn't personalize ads based on sensitive categories such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or health. I think this distinction is important. My private emails and photos aren't shared with advertisers, but information collected from them can still shape Google's ads. Search and Gemini have separate connection settings Search needs personalized recommendations enabled Google has separate controls for linking content apps to Search. You have to turn on personalized recommendations before you can connect your Google content apps. The steps are: Google Account > Data & privacy > Personalization settings > Personalized Recommendations in Search services. Then go to Additional Personal Intelligence > Connected Content Apps and pick which services to connect to. You can also access this directly on Google. These settings are still rolling out, so labels might not match everyone. Google says accounts without the new settings can still manage Search history and recommendations through Web & App Activity. Gemini has its own Personal Intelligence controls. Gemini manages connected apps separately using its Personal Intelligence feature. Google's help page says eligible users can manage these by going to Gemini, navigating to Settings > Preferences > Connected Apps. The available apps and settings aren't the same as in Search. Gemini lists supported connections such as Contacts, Google Photos, Google Workspace, Search services, and YouTube, with limits that vary by app and region. I wouldn't use Gemini's settings to replace checking Search. They're separate services, and changing a connection in one doesn't automatically change what's connected in the other. Removing Gmail or Google Photos from the list of connected Google apps won't automatically turn off personalized ads. I have to go into My Ad Center and turn that off separately. Google's My Ad Center lets me control whether ads are personalized using info from my Google Account and activity. Google lets me manage this through My Ad Center. Turning off personalized ads doesn't mean ads go away. It just means Google won't use that info to tailor ads to me. It's worth checking this along with your connected-app settings. One controls which services can access your content, and the other controls personalized ads. Disconnecting an app doesn't erase all saved activity. There's another thing to remember. Google's Search help page says disconnecting a content app doesn't delete info saved in Search Services History. Google can still use that history to improve its services, including its AI models. You can review and manage it through Google My Activity. Disconnecting Gmail or Photos doesn't delete activity Google has already saved. These are separate privacy choices. I don't want convenience to cost me my privacy The policy update concerns the information users choose to share with other Google services. Google makes it clear that its ads are not, in any way, directly based on the contents of your Gmail inboxes or your Google Photos libraries. For now, I would advise reviewing your privacy settings, seeing what each connection does, and not turning on features just because Google suggests them. Convenience is nice, but I'd rather choose which parts of my online life Google can use.