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It's hard to escape AI these days as just about every service you use online is integrating it in some shape or form, yet there's one feature hidden within your Gmail that you'll definitely want to turn off regardless of your thoughts on the controversial tech.
By nature AI requires data to function, and while many of the biggest models are trained of millions if not billions of different data sets, having personalized help requires you to make your own information readable for the software.
Many users of apps like ChatGPT or Google's Gemini do this willingly by discussing their lives and habits with the chatbots, yet even the most AI adverse people might not be aware of quite how much of your data is being read by AI without your knowledge.
Thankfully there is a growing sense of awareness when it comes to these 'hidden' features, and Shark Tank star Lori Greiner has issued a public service announcement on her Instagram regarding a specific Gmail setting you should probably turn off as soon as possible.
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"Google doesn't want you to know this, but they've been allowing AI to scan every single one of your emails," Greiner explains in a now-viral post, detailing the sneaking scanning tech that has full access to everything you send and receive.
This includes all of your personal conversations – which might include confidential or private information – alongside banking documents, your tax and earnings, and potentially even your health data.
Part of the reason why the internet – and now AI – can remain 'free' to access is because data is often more valuable than any financial payment you could provide, and opening the door to AI scanning is effectively allowing tech companies to know everything about you for no extra cost.
There is a setting you can change to shut off this access, however, and Greiner outlines exactly what you need to do to complete the process — you've got no excuse too as it will take you less than 30 seconds!
Following her instructions, you'll want to select the gear icon in the top right of your Gmail screen and then select 'See all settings'. From there, scroll down until you find the smart features and personalization' section, including smart features in other Google products.
Once you've found that, uncheck the box that's labeled: 'Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet'. Once that's done it'll force a reload of the page, so you'll want to head back into the same area of the settings and select 'Manage Workspace smart feature settings' to disable two more toggles, and you'll now be good to go.
