How to stop Gmail from using your emails for AI training by changing these two settings

Gmail users have been urged to review their privacy settings following a viral warning suggesting that Google may be automatically opting users in to allow access to private emails and attachments for artificial intelligence training, raising fresh concerns around data privacy and AI-driven services.

The alert was issued by engineering YouTuber Davey Jones, whose warning gained traction on social media platforms. Jones stated that Gmail users may have been automatically opted in to allow their messages and attachments to be accessed for training AI models, and informed that reversing this requires manual action within Gmail’s settings. He described the alleged opt-in mechanism as a form of digital Trojan Horse, highlighting concerns over transparency and consent.

According to Jones, users must turn off Smart Features in two separate locations within Gmail’s settings to restrict data access. For desktop and laptop users, he advised first navigating to the settings menu, selecting See all settings, locating the Smart features option, and unchecking the setting that enables smart features across Gmail, Chat and Meet. He further stated that users must then select Manage Workspace smart feature settings to adjust permissions related to Google Workspace and other Google products.

IMPORTANT message for everyone using Gmail.
You have been automatically OPTED IN to allow Gmail to access all your private messages & attachments to train AI models.
You have to manually turn off Smart Features in the Setting menu in TWO locations.

Retweet so every is aware. pic.twitter.com/54FKcr4jO2

— Dave Jones (@eevblog) November 19, 2025

Jones informed that this two-step process is intended to limit the exposure of personal email data to AI-powered features. However, he also stated that making these changes disables certain AI-driven tools, including the Ask Gemini feature, which provides summaries and content suggestions through Google Assistant and the Gemini app.

For mobile users, Jones advised opening the settings menu from the inbox, selecting data privacy, and managing both Smart features and Google Workspace smart features to control how data is used across Google services.

The changes come with notable trade-offs. Disabling Smart Features also turns off commonly used tools such as Smart Compose, automatic categorisation of emails into promotional and social tabs, as well as basic functions including spell-check, grammar suggestions and autocorrect.

The warning has fuelled wider debate around the growing role of artificial intelligence in consumer email services and the extent to which personal communications may be used to train AI systems, prompting many users to reassess how much control they retain over their data.