Khaberni - Technical reports have warned Google users against activating a hidden feature in Gmail accounts that allows the company to access and examine the contents of emails as part of policies related to the development of artificial intelligence technologies.
Australian electronic design engineer, Dave Jones, explained that all Gmail user accounts were automatically selected to allow Google to examine messages and attachments for the purpose of training its artificial intelligence models, such as Gemini, without obtaining explicit and direct consent from the users.
He pointed out that this feature was activated stealthily in October 2025, which means that personal and business messages may be read and used without the knowledge of their owners, leading to a broad wave of controversy and criticism.
This has indeed led to a class action lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of activating a hidden setting in Gmail that allows the secret exploitation of user message records for purposes related to artificial intelligence.
Jones said in a post on the "X" platform, that users should manually turn off "smart features" through the account settings, emphasizing that the deactivation process requires modifying two different options.
For Gmail users on computers, it is necessary to go to "View all settings" and then disable the option "Enable smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet" within the "Smart Features" section, before moving to "Manage Smart Feature Settings in Workspace" and canceling the permissions there.
However, the "Daily Mail" revealed that disabling data sharing automatically disables message categorization, and removes the "Promotions", "Social", and "Updates" tabs, which turns the inbox into an unorganized list of messages.
The newspaper pointed out that reorganizing the email only occurs through reactivating the smart features and allowing Google's artificial intelligence to access data, which has caused dissatisfaction among a number of users.
Gmail users on smartphones can disable the "smart features" by going to "Settings" and then "Data Privacy", and turning off the "Smart Features and Personalization" option, in addition to disabling the "Google Workspace" settings.
Disabling these features leads to the loss of some functions, such as autocomplete, spell check, and adding appointments to the calendar, with the ability to reactivate them at any time.
One Gmail user expressed his anger on the "X" platform, saying: "This decision completely disrupts the categorization of the inbox. Why does Google make things more complicated?"
The impact of this policy is not limited to computer users but also includes Gmail app users on Android and iOS phones, as all accounts are affected as long as the user is logged in.
The greatest danger lies in threatening user privacy, as email messages may include financial data, health records, and sensitive personal information, raising concerns about potential misuse or exposure to hacking.
Google, according to its privacy policy, emphasizes that it uses data "to improve services and develop new products and technologies that benefit users", stressing that it does not use Gmail content directly to train the Gemini system.
However, critics argue that the consent option itself raises questions about the level of data protection, especially given the complexity of privacy settings.
