If you use any Google service, your data is likely feeding the company’s artificial intelligence models. A quiet update to Google’s privacy settings now stores more of your personal media, including images, audio recordings, and video files, and uses that data to improve its AI systems. Unless you take action to opt out, every photo you snap with Google Lens or every voice command you speak into Search becomes training material.
The change arrived in June 2026 via an email to customers that few people probably read. Google essentially flipped a switch that opted everyone into expanded AI training while framing it as a way to give users more control over saved history and personalized recommendations. Two new settings appeared: Search Services History and Personalized Recommendations. Together, they let Google hold onto your uploaded media for longer and apply it to AI model development.
This update does not just affect Google Search. It covers Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate, and News as well. When you use Google Lens to identify a plant by taking a picture, that image may now be stored and used for training. When you use Search Live to speak a query into the Google app, that audio recording gets saved. Even practicing pronunciation in Google Translate counts. Google’s own documentation confirms that saved media is used to develop and improve services, including generative AI models, and that human reviewers may access it to ensure safety.
Why Google changed its data policies
The shift reflects a broader industry trend. Instead of scraping public web data, companies like Google and Meta are turning to data that users voluntarily upload or create. Meta trains its AI on user images and on footage captured by its smart glasses. For Google, this means any media you generate while using its services can now be repurposed for AI development. The company states plainly in its help pages that it uses your history to provide, develop, and improve services, and that includes training generative AI models.
Some of this storage is temporary and necessary for the product to function. But Google also retains saved media specifically for AI training. The distinction matters because users who thought they had opted out through the old Web and App Activity settings now need to adjust a separate option. The new Search Services History setting is on by default and operates independently from Web and App Activity. Turning off the old setting no longer protects your search media.
How to opt out of Google’s AI training
You have several ways to restrict how Google uses your data. Begin by visiting the Search Services History page. There you will see a checkbox labeled Save Media. Uncheck that box to stop Google from storing your images, audio, and video for AI training. You can also uncheck the Search Services History box entirely if you do not want any search activity saved. On the same page you can set automatic deletion periods of three, 18, or 36 months for any data that remains.
Next, go to the Search Services Personalization page to manage how Google uses your history to personalize recommendations and ads. Disabling these options reduces the amount of data Google can feed into its AI systems. From there you can also visit the main privacy settings page to review Web and App Activity, YouTube History, and other data collections. The key is to understand that the new Search Services settings are separate from the older Web and App Activity controls. Changing one no longer changes the other.
Google uses more than just saved media. It also relies on your search history, location, and browsing information to personalize ads and recommendations. But the media data is the newest and most aggressive form of collection. By opting out, you prevent the company from using your photos, voice recordings, and videos as training fodder for its next generation of AI models.
The situation is not unique to Google. Across the tech industry, companies are racing to gather as much human-generated data as possible to refine their artificial intelligence. Our coverage of the humanoid robot race shows a similar pattern: every interaction, every movement, every piece of data is being captured and fed into systems that learn and improve. The difference is that robot data comes from sensors in physical machines. Google’s data comes from you, every time you search, snap, or speak. The choice to opt out is yours, but the window to do so quietly closes with each passing update.
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