Google, being Google, is now using your Search data to “improve Google generative AI models”. You weren’t really asked about this, though you may have received an email telling you that Search Services History now exists.
Part of the new function (it’s not a feature) is the aforementioned generative AI opt-in. Most of Google’s users won’t bother with fiddling with it, but not everyone is okay with training AI without compensation. If that’s you, there’s a simple way to opt out.
Search for another way
Accessing the new setting is as simple as visiting My Google Activity in a browser (while logged into the relevant account). Once there, you’ll find the Search Services History section, as well as a toggle to turn it on or off. You can just flick it off without knowing what’s inside, but you should probably check what’s happening first.
There are a couple of ‘turn off’ options. One simply stops any further tracking. The other deletes everything that has been tracked so far, though the company gives several caveats about how it’ll sometimes temporarily keep data for… reasons. This should, in theory, stop your internet searches from being used to train Gemini. Well, your new data should be discarded, anyway.
According to the interface, “If your saved media is used to train our AI models, it is disconnected from your Google Account. This training data will be kept for up to 4 years, even if you delete the original activity.”
Of course, we’ve only got Google’s word that opting out will actually… you know, opt us out. There’s no way, once this is done, for any individual to check whether the internet giant is keeping its word. Short of a massive amount of regulatory oversight, the sort which the company is adept at sidestepping. Now might be a good time to remind you that almost everything you do online (for free, and when you pay for it) is being used to train AI systems.
