Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads

The thread treated the headline less as a sudden policy reversal than as the predictable next step in Google’s attempt to turn deeply personal data into fuel for its AI and advertising machine. A minority stressed that Gmail and Photos are not automatically opened to ad targeting: the relevant sharing happens when people choose to connect those services to other products that run personalized advertising. EU rules were also credited with forcing a clearer service-linking choice than many users receive elsewhere. Most commenters did not find that reassurance meaningful. They argued that consent inside Google’s ecosystem is routinely manufactured through repeated prompts, confusing settings, and AI features that are crippled until users grant sweeping access. Gemini was the clearest flashpoint: readers said it cannot function as a practical Assistant replacement without permission to inspect personal services, making a nominally voluntary link feel like the price of useful AI. Several connected this to Google’s earlier willingness to use Gemini conversations for training, reading both moves as evidence of a more aggressive data-extraction strategy. The practical response was to reduce dependence on Google, use independent email domains, or self-host photo libraries, although migration and unreliable exports make that escape harder than advocates suggest. The prevailing mood was distrustful: formal opt-outs exist, but commenters expect product design to steer people toward surrendering data.