An important alert has been issued to millions of Gmail users, urging them to switch off an AI setting immediately. The warning comes from American TV personality and entrepreneur Lori Greiner, who posted a cautionary message on Instagram over the weekend.
The Warning
Greiner, known for her role on Shark Tank, stated: "Important information if you have a Gmail account. Please share with friends and family to help protect them too! Stay alert. Stay safe." The concern revolves around Google's new AI smart features, which scan inboxes to provide functionalities such as smart searches, contextual replies, and email summaries. Although Google asserts that it never reads messages for its own purposes, Greiner remains uneasy.
"If you have a Gmail account, do not ignore this warning," she said. "Google doesn't want you to know this, but they've been allowing AI to scan every single one of your emails, and I'm talking about everything. Your financial documents, your tax information, your personal conversations. All of it is being scanned by AI, without you even knowing."
How to Disable AI in Gmail
Fortunately, disabling this feature is straightforward and takes only 30 seconds. Follow these steps:
- Go to Settings and click "See all settings."
- Scroll down until you see "Smart features."
- Turn off smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet. This stops Google from scanning your messages.
- Additionally, click "Manage Workspace Smart Features" and uncheck boxes for Workspace and other products to fully restrict data usage for AI.
Google's Response
Google maintains that no personal data is ever seen by its team or third parties and that everything is secure. The company stated: "Google does not train its foundational AI models, including Gemini, on your personal emails. Any access you grant Gemini in Gmail is for isolated tasks — like summarising a lengthy email — and that's it. What's in your inbox stays private, even if you use Gemini to help you."
"Gemini in Gmail does not retain your data. We engineered it to work securely inside your inbox so that it only processes what you ask for, then leaves your inbox. Gemini only processes your information to complete your specific request, and doesn't hold onto that data afterward. Bottom line: Your inbox is your business."
Despite these assurances, if you are uncomfortable with AI scanning your emails, it is advisable to disable the smart features in Gmail settings.
