Google Uses Your Photos to Train AI — How to Opt Out and Protect Your Privacy

Published Apr 13, 2026, 10:30 AM EDT

Digvijay is a Computer Science graduate with a deep passion for technology. His journey into tech writing began in 2018 with software and product reviews, and he’s been exploring the digital space ever since.

He joined MUO as a full-time writer in 2022, where he covers how-tos, explainers, and tech guides focused on Android, entertainment, and the internet.

Digvijay has previously contributed to several reputable publications, including Alphr, GuidingTech, TheWindowsClub, and MakeTechEasier.

Outside of writing, he enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures, as he believes new experiences spark creativity.

If you use Google Photos, there is a good chance your photos are helping Google train its artificial intelligence. Not something you knowingly agreed to; just a default setting that was automatically applied to you. Google does offer real controls to stop it, but they are buried so deep that most people never find them. Here is where to look and what to change.

What Google actually does with your photos

The hidden cost of free photo storage

Google Photos is more than just a photo storage service. It recognizes faces, organizes memories by location and date, and lets you search your entire library. Type in a birthday or mountain trip, and it finds the right photos instantly. That intelligence is driven by AI, and AI needs data to learn. Since late 2025, Google has been using photos, files, and prompts that you upload and share through its Gemini app to train and improve its AI models. This setting is turned on by default; however, in countries with stricter data laws, such as the EU, UK, or Japan, you may need to express your consent first.

What is important to understand here is that Google Photos itself is not the direct source of that training data. Google has stated that your personal data stored inside Google Photos is not used to train AI models that operate outside of Google Photos. The problem begins when you upload a photo from your library to the Gemini app, ask Gemini a question using one of your photos, or link your Google apps. When that happens, your photo is no longer confined to your library, and Google can use it under different terms.

If that is not something you are comfortable with, there is a way to stop it, and the next section covers exactly how.

Related

Stop Google from using your photos

Taking back control starts right here

Google offers ways to limit this, although the controls aren't all in one place. Some reside in Gemini, while others are part of Gmail and Google Workspace settings. Turning one option off doesn't automatically disable the others, so you must check them individually.

Turn off keep activity in Gemini

This is the most important setting to change, and the one that directly affects whether Google can use your uploaded photos and files for AI training. By default, Google uses a sample of your conversations, prompts, and media uploaded through Gemini to improve its services. In September 2025, Google renamed this setting from Gemini Apps Activity to Keep Activity, so if you have looked for it before and couldn't find it, that is likely why.

To turn it off:

1. Head to gemini.google.com and sign in to your account.
2. On the top left, click the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines).
3. Navigate to Settings & help -> Activity.

Now, tap the dropdown, then choose Turn off or Turn off and delete activity if you want to clear what's already been saved. Even after you disable it, Google retains recent conversations for up to 72 hours for operational reasons before permanently deleting them. If you'd rather not turn off all activity, Google also offers Temporary Chats, which works like an incognito session and doesn't save anything to your history.

Review Ask photos in Google Photos

Ask Photos is a conversational AI feature built inside Google Photos. You can ask it for things like "find photos from my last vacation" or "show me pictures with my family from last year," and it searches through your library to find them. It also enables Google to generate narrated recap videos of your past photos and videos using Gemini. These features are enabled by default, and while Google has confirmed that your personal data in Google Photos is not used to train AI models outside Google Photos, there are still a few toggles worth reviewing, depending on how much access you are comfortable granting.

To find them:

1. Open Google Photos and tap the profile icon.
2. Go to Settings and select Preferences.
3. Tap Gemini features in Photos, and you will see several options.

From here, you can disable Ask Photos entirely, disable Gemini-powered memories, and manage your Remember List, which controls what data Google uses to personalize your search results. There is also a separate toggle called Allow us to access your queries. When this is on, Google may review your search queries to improve the feature, but the queries are not tied to your account and do not include your actual photos. With one tap, that can be turned off, preventing future access to even that limited level.

Disable smart features in Gmail and Drive

Your documents are also part of this

Before you close your account settings, there is one more option to consider. It doesn't involve your photos directly, but it gives Google access to your personal content through a different door.

Google uses Smart Features in Gmail and Google Workspace to power AI-assisted tools based on your email content and document activity. When turned on, Gmail can suggest words and complete sentences as you type, automatically detect information in your emails, such as travel bookings and meeting invites, and add them to your Google Calendar, and offer customized responses based on your past email behavior. In Google Drive, it enables features like document summaries and smart suggestions. These features are enabled by default, which means, unless you have previously changed this, Google has been reading your emails and documents to make them work.

To turn them off:

1. Open Google Drive and click the gear icon in the top right corner.
2. Navigate to Settings -> Privacy.
3. Click Manage Workspace smart feature settings, and a pop-up will appear with two toggles.
4. Turn off both Smart features in Google Workspace and Smart features in other Google products.
5. Then hit Save.

By turning these off, all AI-assisted features in workspace apps like Gmail, Chat, Meet, and Drive will stop working, so before making the change, you should consider whether it makes sense for you.

While you are at it

Since you are already inside your Google account, a couple of extra steps are worth your time. Head over to myactivity.google.com to review and delete your saved activity across all Google products. You can also set up an auto-delete timer to automatically remove anything older than three or eighteen months.

Google also has a Privacy Checkup tool at myaccount.google.com that walks you through all the major data settings in one place. Companies intentionally make their default settings hard to locate, but once you know where to look, restoring control isn't a problem.

Google Workspace

Google Workspace is a cloud-based productivity platform that brings together tools like Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, and Calendar. It’s designed for both individuals and businesses to create, collaborate, and communicate in real time. Everything is connected through your Google account, so your files, emails, and conversations stay synced across devices and are easily accessible from anywhere.