Google Now Uses Your Search Uploads to Train AI — Here's What Changed and How to Opt Out

The setting is active by default for signed-in users — an opt-out, not opt-in approach . When Wired's reporter first visited the relevant settings page, the feature was already activated .

Types of Media Collected

Google's updated terms allow the company to use "images, files, video, and audio" from Search-related interactions . Specifically, these include:

• Images uploaded for reverse image searches (Google Lens, Search by Image)
• Audio recordings, such as voice inputs for Google Translate or voice searches
• Video and files uploaded during interactions with Search and Gemini Live

Google's own support page states: "Your saved media includes your images, files, and audio and video recordings from your interactions with Search services. This includes things like Google Lens images, recordings from Search Live or Translate" .

Affected Services

The new policy covers a broad range of Google services:

• Google Search
• Google Lens
• Google Translate (voice recordings)
• Google Maps, Shopping, Hotels, Flights (search activity broadly)
• Gemini Live

Data Retention: The Four-Year Catch

Users can choose auto-delete periods of 3, 18, or 36 months, or keep data indefinitely . However, there is a critical caveat: once media has been used for AI training, it is disconnected from the user's account and retained for up to four years even if the original activity record is deleted . This means that deleting your search history does not retroactively remove data already fed into Google's AI models.

Google Photos: Explicitly Excluded (With One Catch)

Google Photos is explicitly excluded from this policy. Google states it does not train generative AI models on users' personal Google Photos library data . The company's official Gemini features in Photos privacy hub states: "We don't train any generative AI models outside of Google Photos with your personal data in Google Photos" .

However, the exclusion applies to the core Photos service only. If a user actively shares a photo from Google Photos into Gemini or another covered service, that shared media may then fall under the Search Services History policy .

How to Opt Out and Delete Your Data

Turn Off Search Services History

1. Go to Search Services History settings (you can find this in your Google Account under "Data & Privacy") .
2. Toggle Search Services History to off .
3. When turning it off, you can choose whether to also delete your existing history .

Delete Past Activity

• Visit My Activity (myactivity.google.com) to manually delete some or all of your saved media .
• Use Google Takeout to export your data before deletion .

Important: Check Your Web & App Activity Too

Because Search Services History is a separate setting, ensure you have also reviewed your Web & App Activity settings if you wish to limit data collection comprehensively .

Who Is Not Affected

Workspace/enterprise accounts are not affected — Google does not use customer Workspace data for model training without explicit permission .

Privacy Concerns Raised

The rollout of Search Services History has drawn criticism from privacy advocates on several fronts:

• Default-on approach: The setting is automatically enabled for most signed-in users, which critics argue reverses the burden of privacy protection onto the user .
• Bypasses prior opt-outs: Because Search Services History is a new, separate toggle, users who had previously disabled Web & App Activity or other data collection settings were not automatically opted out of this new one . One report described this as Google's "new AI data grab" that "bypasses your old privacy settings" .
• Four-year retention after training: Even after a user deletes their activity, training data can be retained in anonymized form for up to four years, making deletion effectively irreversible once training has occurred .
• Broad media scope: The policy covers everything from casual reverse-image searches to voice translations, which privacy advocates say is overly broad and not clearly communicated to users at the point of upload .
• Global rollout with minimal notice: Google notified users via email and in-product notices, but the change was described as a worldwide initiative rolling out over months, leaving many users unaware that their uploads were now being saved for AI training .

Bottom Line

Google's June 2025 policy change marks a significant shift in how the company treats media uploaded to its search-related services. The new Search Services History setting turns data collection for AI training on by default, and its separation from existing privacy controls means a simple check of your old settings is no longer enough. To protect your data, navigate to the new setting and turn it off — preferably before your next image search or voice translation.