A change in Google’s privacy rules is attracting attention: Under certain conditions, information from Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive can also contribute to the personalization of advertising in the future. The prerequisite is that users activate corresponding links between Google services. However, for users in Austria, there is an important restriction: According to current information, the new regulation does not yet apply in Europe.

Until now, Google emphasized that content from Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive would not be used for the personalization of advertising. This fundamental statement has now been supplemented with an exception.

If personal content is voluntarily linked with other Google services that support personalized advertising, certain information from these links can also be used for advertising purposes under corresponding conditions.

This does not mean that all private emails or stored photos are automatically evaluated for advertising.

The decisive factors are the activated functions and personal privacy settings.

An example of the increasing linkage of Google services is the AI assistant Gemini. Users can allow the assistant to access certain information from other applications.

This allows tasks to be completed, for example, where information from emails or other stored content is needed.

Such links can create additional opportunities for personalization.

Google explains that with voluntarily activated connections, certain data can also be used for other Google experiences. Depending on the settings, this can generally include the selection of personalized advertising.

For users in Austria, the regional restriction is crucial.

The new regulation for the commercial use of linked content does not yet apply in Europe.

Therefore, the change currently does not imply that Google uses private Gmail messages or photos of Austrian users for advertising purposes due to the new exception.

Regardless, it remains sensible to regularly check which Google services are connected and which personalization features have been activated.

Google offers a specific setting for personalized recommendations in its search services. These include Google Search, Google Maps, Google Shopping, and Google News, among others.

If you do not want this personalization, you can disable it in your Google account.

The following steps are provided for this:

Alternatively, the setting can be accessed directly via .

However, Google points out that this does not automatically delete stored activities nor deactivate all personalization features of other services.

Disabling personalized recommendations does not mean that Google automatically removes the previous search history or other stored activities.

Users can manage these data separately through the activity settings of their Google account.

Among other things, it is possible to check which activities are stored and whether automatic deletion is set up.

The use of data for personalized advertising can also be controlled separately through Google’s ad settings.

The change shows how closely Google connects its various services with each other.

Especially AI functions can benefit from the shared use of information from multiple applications.

For users, however, this also means that permissions and settings are becoming increasingly important.

Those who use Gmail, Google Photos, Drive, or Gemini should therefore check which connections are activated and which data have been released for personalization functions.

(Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article .