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Make your choice now.<\/p>\n
NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Updated on Nov. 30 with new analysis into Google\u2019s AI upgrades and the critical decisions 2 billion users now face to maintain their security and privacy.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing to worry about, Google tells Gmail\u2019s 2 billion users<\/a>, everything is fine. Unfortunately, that\u2019s not the case. There is a serious issue that you need to worry about. All the misleading headlines and quickfire denials have not made that go away.<\/p>\n In recent weeks we have seen two versions of the same pattern. A loosely framed Gmail story triggering wild headlines and a public correction<\/a>. First was a huge security breach<\/a> framed as a new Gmail password leak. Then came a new Google policy<\/a> on AI training.<\/p>\n ForbesMicrosoft Will Tell Your Boss When You\u2019re Not At Work\u2014\u2018Starts January\u2019By Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n The breach was not new and it was not linked to Gmail. An amalgamation of prior data leaks will always contain plenty of Gmail data<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s the world\u2019s largest email platform. And there has been no policy change on AI training on Gmail inboxes.<\/p>\n Google pointed all this out, and the wild headlines morphed into \u201cnothing to see here.\u201d This pattern will continue to repeat. Nothing has fundamentally changed.<\/p>\n But this is all bad news for users \u2014 the stories and the corrections. It points to a lack of understanding of privacy policies and what\u2019s actually being done with user data. It\u2019s not a Google-specific issue. But Google is the gorilla in the cage. And that matters.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the crux. Gemini is not your close personal friend, it\u2019s not your confidente. Neither is ChatGPT or Copilot. They\u2019re someone else\u2019s computer, operating out of grey data centers, consuming an increasing percentage of the world\u2019s energy and water.<\/p>\n You are responsible for your own privacy and security. Not Google. Not Meta. Not OpenAI. Not even Apple. You can select the vendors and platforms you think have the best architectures and defenses and privacy polices. But the choice is yours.<\/p>\n Google is often painted as a b\u00eate noire when it comes to privacy. But its platforms dominate. Just look at Chrome. An unassailable install base despite almost continual privacy warnings \u2014 including from Apple and Microsoft<\/a>. This perfectly illustrates the disconnect. Users can\u2019t say they weren\u2019t warned when tracking takes place.<\/p>\n And so it is with Gmail. You have one very specific choice to make, as confirmed by Google repeatedly and again recently. Using its cloud-based services is your decision. Your opt-in. And even if some users have been automatically opted in by default, a quick check and two taps\/clicks and that can be easily corrected<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you allow Gemini \u2014 aka Google\u2019s vast array of power-hungry servers in global data centers \u2014 to pore over your inbox, to analyze your private emails, however sensitive they are \u2014 then that\u2019s fine. As long as you have made a conscious decision to do so.<\/p>\n Make a choice. Do not sacrifice your privacy through inertia or ambivalence.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s where Google (and Microsoft and Meta and others) can be criticized. Privacy policies are a mess. It should be impossible for users to open their data to cloud services without a clear understanding as to what that actually means. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, tech giants will continue to pour billions into new AI capabilities and the wall-to-wall marketing shaping this new space race. As they do so, 2 billion Gmail users and the billions on all the other platforms will continue to sleep walk onto thin ice.<\/p>\n A new report puts Google\u2019s unstoppable AI push across Gmail and other Workspace platforms into context: \u201cCould Microsoft walk away with the corporate AI market?<\/a>\u201d <\/p>\n Josh Bersin suggests \u201cMicrosoft is staking out the market for corporate productivity and AI infrastructure, leveraging its massive Microsoft 365 install base and deep relationships with IT.\u201d And \u201cfor individual productivity, Microsoft has now “embedded Copilot agents into Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, with insights into Outlook.\u201d<\/p>\n