Is Google using your searches to train its AI? Here’s how to opt out
Poinews.com – Google is broadening the scope of data it collects through its search services, encompassing a wider range of user interactions. This includes not only search queries but also media uploads and information from visited websites. The company plans to roll out updated privacy settings across its services over the coming months, affecting features like Search, Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate, and News.
Opting Out Options
Users can now disable the feature that saves their search data. The “Search Services History” and “Save Media” settings can be adjusted independently. The Save Media option covers uploaded images, audio, and video files. Additionally, users can control how frequently saved data is deleted, with choices to remove it after three, 18, or 36 months.
“Google also uses your history to provide, develop, and improve its services (such as training generative AI models) and to protect Google, its users, and the public with the help of human reviewers,” the company wrote in its help documentation.
Industry Shift and Competitor Practices
The change reflects a growing trend in the tech industry to leverage real-world user data for AI development. While Google’s new policy allows for data collection by default, competitors have different approaches. OpenAI enables data sharing for consumer accounts but offers an opt-out, whereas Anthropic requires users to explicitly allow access to chats and coding sessions. Meta, too, has used public social media posts from European users to refine its AI systems, facing scrutiny over this practice.
Historical Context
Google’s use of user activity to enhance technology dates back further than the rise of generative AI. Its reCAPTCHA system, for instance, once asked users to identify text from books and newspapers, helping digitize content while combating spam. This strategy underscores how data from everyday interactions has long been a key resource for improving digital services.
