Mastodawn

Antke Meintema Nov 21

Coach Pāṇini ®

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alex-turnbull-1ab9992_warning-do-not-ignore-gmails-new-ai-scanning-activity-7397317290431770624-n65V

WARNING: Do NOT ignore #Gmail's new #AI scanning default settings. 1.8 billion users automatically opted in to allow Gmail access to all private messages & attachments to train AI models since June 2024.

Here's what happened:

1. Gmail enabled "Smart Features" by default for ALL users without clear notification.

2. They tied basic functionality like spell checking to AI scanning (i.e., if want spell check you need to accept full email analysis).

(1/4)

WARNING: Do NOT ignore Gmail's new AI scanning default settings. 1.8 billion users automatically opted in to allow Gmail access to all private messages & attachments to train AI models since June… | Alex Turnbull | 20 comments

WARNING: Do NOT ignore Gmail's new AI scanning default settings. 1.8 billion users automatically opted in to allow Gmail access to all private messages & attachments to train AI models since June 2024. Here's what happened: 1. Gmail enabled "Smart Features" by default for ALL users without clear notification. 2. They tied basic functionality like spell checking to AI scanning (i.e., if want spell check you need to accept full email analysis). 3. Email categories (Primary, Updates, Social) get disabled when you opt out, despite working for years without "Smart Features." What they're accessing: - Every email you send and receive - All attachments and documents - Personal conversations and sensitive information - Business communications and contracts - 18-month data retention through Gemini Activity The numbers: - Users affected: 1.8 billion Gmail accounts - Features generating: 10M+ daily AI summaries from your emails - User complaints: +20% year-over-year on Reddit - Adoption: 70% keep it enabled (Google Q3 2025) - vs 2023: 0% auto-opt-in To opt out (you need BOTH locations): 1. Gmail app/web settings: Disable "Smart Features" 2. Workspace admin console: Disable "AI Personalization" Otherwise, your private communications become training data for AI models (unless you manually find and disable these settings in two separate locations). Google is harvesting 1.8 billion users' private communications without explicit consent by making basic features dependent on data collection. If you value email privacy, check your settings immediately and share this so others can make an informed choice. Don't be a guinea pig for Google's AI training. | 20 comments on LinkedIn

Coach Pāṇini ®Nov 21

3. Email categories (Primary, Updates, Social) get disabled when you opt out, despite working for years without "Smart Features."

What they're accessing:
- Every email you send and receive
- All attachments and documents
- Personal conversations and sensitive information
- Business communications and contracts
- 18-month data retention through Gemini Activity

(2/4)

Coach Pāṇini ®Nov 21

The numbers:
- Users affected: 1.8 billion Gmail accounts
- Features generating: 10M+ daily AI summaries from your emails
- User complaints: +20% year-over-year on Reddit
- Adoption: 70% keep it enabled (Google Q3 2025)
- vs 2023: 0% auto-opt-in

To opt out (you need BOTH locations):
1. Gmail app/web settings: Disable "Smart Features"
2. Workspace admin console: Disable "AI Personalization"

(3/4)

Coach Pāṇini ®Nov 21

Otherwise, your private communications become training data for AI models (unless you manually find and disable these settings in two separate locations).

Google is harvesting 1.8 billion users' private communications without explicit consent by making basic features dependent on data collection.

If you value email privacy, check your settings immediately and share this so others can make an informed choice.

Don't be a guinea pig for Google's AI training. (4/4)

meek cynics Nov 21

@paninid, over the last two decades, this is the six time news about Google ingesting emails for machine learning has gone viral (2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2018) and it claimed to put a stop to it. People valuing their privacy should stop using the service and sending messages to Google et al mailboxes altogether.

jakob 🇦🇹 ✅Nov 21

@paninid
... or:
Podcast about evil tech-bros from usa, destroying democracie und law adverts to "follow us on youtube"

William Johnson Nov 21

@paninid Wow, seriously?! So even just to check your spelling, Gmail can peek into all your emails if you don’t turn these features off?

Britstralian Nov 21

@ChaosInThoughts @paninid Send a friend an email about buying a new car? You'll see ads for cars on web sites - and even on your telly - in a flash...

Nils Hammer Nov 21

@paninid Seems like we should promote end to end #encryption of #email|s. #PGP #E2E

jakob 🇦🇹 ✅Nov 21

@nshr @paninid
PGP is not the solution.

Ditching Email as Communication is the solution.

Nils Hammer Nov 21

@jakob
Which alternatives do you suggest?
@paninid

jakob 🇦🇹 ✅Nov 21

@nshr @paninid
Distributed Messenger-Services
There is e2ee planned from the design on.

It ist possible, as Matrix for example shows, that this works.
And it's a question about clients, how you can show the messages.

An open Protocoll (as SMTP and IMAP and POP3 also is) is the base.

Email-Protocolls are from a time, where the customers know each other personally... at this time security was NOT an issue...

Nicole Parsons Nov 21

When a company takes investment money from someone known as #PrinceBonesaw, what did we think would happen?

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/07/heres-a-look-at-who.html

The Saudi Crown Prince hung out this week with Google execs Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai

The Saudi Crown Prince came to Silicon Valley this week and met with a handful of executives, including co-founder Sergey Brin

CNBC

H4Heights 🇪🇺🇵🇸🇺🇦🇨🇦Nov 21

@Npars01 @paninid Somebody kicked that chap on the right in the nuts?

@paninid "Gmail enabled "Smart Features" by default for ALL users without clear notification."

If they did, possibly way more people would have opted out and that's not what they want.

Iron Bug Nov 21

@paninid if you log in to gmail account (a difficult task for alternative browsers, yeah!) it offers you to turn that AI BS on or off first for Gmail and then for all "other Google services".
I haven't logged in there for ages and now just turned off that AI crap off for everything. it didn't take any efforts, but logging in through all circles of hell with captchas and other whistels and bells,