For many people, email is the most private corner of their digital life. It holds job offers and family news, bank statements and travel plans, and conversations never meant for anyone else. Google’s Gemini assistant can now move through that inbox, summarising long threads, drafting replies and hunting down forgotten details. Google does provide switches to turn these features off, although they are spread across several settings, and working through them gives a much clearer picture of what Gemini can see.
Why Gmail Users Are Worried
Gemini’s Gmail abilities are designed to save time. A long exchange can be condensed into a short summary, a reply can be drafted in seconds, and a detail buried in an old message can be found without endless scrolling. The concern is about scope, because an assistant that can summarise an inbox must be able to read it. Even when processing is described as limited to a particular task, users may feel uncomfortable about personal or confidential material passing through an AI system.
Switching Off Gemini on a Computer
Anyone who mainly uses Gmail in a web browser should start with the main Gmail settings. After signing in, open Settings from the top right corner. Under the General tab, unchecking Smart features for Gmail, Chat and Meet, then confirming, removes the core Gemini functions that draw on email content. The same General tab also holds a separate section for Google Workspace smart features. Opening its management page allows two further switches to be turned off, one for Workspace itself and one for other Google products, and saving the change ensures the wider set of features is disabled too.
Changing the Setting on Your Phone
The same controls are available inside the Gmail app on Android and on iPhone, and the process is broadly similar on both. Opening the app and tapping the menu icon in the top left corner leads to settings, where the relevant Gmail account can be selected. From there, the Smart features option can be switched off for Gmail, Chat and Meet, and the Workspace section can be opened to disable the same two additional options found on a computer. Google says changes apply across devices on the same account, so repeat checks are usually unnecessary.
Cutting Gemini Off From Your Connected Google Apps
Gmail is not the only route by which Gemini can reach personal information. The assistant can also connect to services such as Drive and Calendar and to other Workspace applications, allowing it to draw on files and appointments when it answers questions. Review them by opening the Gemini website, signing in, and turning off the Google Workspace connection under personal intelligence and connected apps. Disconnecting an app does not, however, automatically erase information that may already have appeared in earlier Gemini conversations. A fuller clean-up also means reviewing and deleting relevant Gemini conversations.
Stopping Google Saving Search Activity for AI Training
Beyond Gmail itself, there is a separate question about search activity. Google has said that information collected through its search services can be used to improve its products, including training generative AI models. Users wanting additional protection can open the Search Services History settings after signing in and turn that history off altogether. Those who also want to remove what has already been saved can choose to turn the history off and delete the activity at the same time, following the on-screen instructions to confirm.
Turning Off Personalised Recommendations
Personalisation can be reduced without deleting emails by opening the Data and privacy section of a Google account and switching off personalised recommendations in search services. Turning it off limits how saved information tailors search, although it does not delete previously saved activity.
Does Google Train Gemini on Your Emails?
One of the most common questions is whether personal Gmail messages are used to train Gemini’s underlying models. Google’s answer, repeated in an April 2026 statement, is that it does not directly use personal Gmail messages to train its foundational AI models. Instead, it says Gemini processes email only to carry out a specific task, and that information is not retained in Gmail once the task is complete. The distinction matters when Workspace content is connected to other services, particularly search, where derived summaries or excerpts may be used for model improvement, depending on settings.
What Changes When You Switch Smart Features Off
Turning these features off has consequences beyond Gemini. Depending on which settings are disabled, Gmail may stop offering automatic email categorisation, suggested replies, Smart Compose and certain summary cards, and cross-app conveniences can disappear, such as flight reservations from Gmail appearing automatically in Calendar. Workspace features that use Gemini to summarise, find files or draft content may also go. Ordinary email still works as before, with messages sent, received, searched and organised manually. If circumstances change, the same settings can be revisited and the features switched back on. Disabling smart features does not stop Gmail processing messages for delivery, spam protection and security; it limits the optional layer of AI help built on top of that service.
