And it's been around for a while

The only thing I use it for to read Google docs one person uses to send me information. In the couple of years that I've had it I've used it probably 3 or 4 times. Now, it's like my hotmail account which I use as my "junk" account when I don't want to give someone my regular email account.

just finished doing so.

Do they save the data to other places as they do this?

I don't know the answer so maybe other DUers know it at:

The Computer Help and Support forum:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

A primary resource provided:

https://concentric.ai/google-gemini-security-risks/

I had turned off smart reply after it suggested a totally fictional story about me dealing with a printer problem two years ago. It creeped me out. I now have all the other "smart" stuff turned off. Thanks for posting.

in my emaiils, telling me what th email says aan "suggesting" responses. I was woonderung how to turn it off.

Done and done! Previously killed copilot in Windows and Office 365.

Death to ARTIFICIAL intelligence!

Reviewing the settings, I had done this on my phone when I first received a message that this was happening.
Silly me, I thought it applied to everything.
When I looked on my computer, the settings were enabled.
I followed your instructions and disabled all the settings for this invasive feature.

Again thanks.
Only use your Superpowers for good!

We need strong regulation now.

I must admit I don't know the answer so I hope other DUers can answer your question here in a reply to your reply.

Also. do the steps need to be repeated after the updates (including automatic ones)?

I would assume so?

I don't have the answer but maybe other DUers know it at:

The Computer Help and Support forum:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

I don't have the answer but maybe other DUers know it at:

The Computer Help and Support forum:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

Almost everyone in my family has a g-mail account.
I will share this. (Probably I'll send it out via G-Mail.)

If users of Gmail were not notified and given instructions to opt out this should be considered a serious breach and TOA violation brought on by Google.

AI is going to become mal/spy/bloat/etc.ware

I will let my wife know and we will make the changes and reconsider our options.

Every damn tool that's been relied for years is being turned into a weapon against us.

Tens of millions of dollars.

Seems more than ever it's

Us against them.

Fuckers.

Tyvm!

Maybe because I never used any of the available 'smart' stuff?

then whine when the government collects personal information even though the government can and will get that information from the same companies that people gave it to.

They give it away in their home (e.g. Google, Alexa, ring, their "smart" TV and similar), their phone, their car, etc.

I did computer and network security and privacy for a living and I'm appalled with the attitude of the stupid but this is just one more example of what companies will do because people don't care.

Just did a search and found this how to video for dummies like me.

Of course, Google AI naturally would. But, for the other side of the issue, this is what Google AI says:

I mean, to the average users (most of the general public) who don't care about all the annoying switches, and just sign it without taking the annoying long time to read and moreso, to understand the fine prints, who's to say they don't just lie (and do it anyway without telling they're lying of course)?

.... First, the AI says the lawsuits is based only on "internet rumors." The filing by the plaintiffs should be publicly available, and it may explain the basis for their allegations. Do they have anything other than rumors? Maybe a whistleblower? If so, the filing should tell us.

Second, whatever evidence they do or don't have, they will have to prove their allegations in court. So eventually, the truth will out.

so...

.... maybe not. We shall see.

To be honest, the OP looks like one of those Facebook posts that declares "By posting this message I hereby declare Facebook does not, blah, blah, blah, Mark Zuckerberg, blah, blah blah, copyright, blah, blah, blah." Just an internet rumor generating chain-mail level reposts.

There does seem to be an actual lawsuit, but it would be helpful if links to an actual legitimate news article or to the actual legal filing were provided. Otherwise it just doesn't seem legit.

there's a class-action lawsuit over it now

Bookmarked

When I’m at my computer. Thank you!

and I have a LOT of Gmail addresses--- but I generate so few emails from myself,
I haven't given enough of a SHIT about that to DO anything about it!
If they are, which I guess they are, they would mostly have to rely upon
emails SENT to me, which are mostly spam, and of little value thereby)

(Haven't been trying to plan any assassinations through my Gmail accounts, lately...
or ever, I guess.... LOL.... although I might have had a rather questionable conversation
with GROK once, about why hasn't anyone tried to kill Elon yet? HAHAHAHAHAHA)

I don't have the answer but maybe other DUers know it at:

The Computer Help and Support forum:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

Do not have an account with googly eyes

My wife is always on top of this stuff. It's like having an in-house IT person LOL.

thanks

I had to do the following

Go to Settings -> Data privacy (not Select your account) --> Turn off "Smart features"

Maybe it depends on the version or substitute "Select your account" with the account, as in xxxxxxx@gmail.com (xxxxxxx is the tag).

If not, I may not have the answer but maybe other DUers know it at:

The Computer Help and Support forum:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

At least not on my iPhone

I had to go to Settings -> Data privacy (not Select your account) --> Turn off "Smart features"

Maybe I should have mentioned that in the OP but didn't know how the code shows on Apple phones. And yes, on my Android phone, "Select your account" is not a menu option. It has to be showing the xxxxxxxx@gmail.com tag (one or many on top of each other if the user has many different accounts).

Link to the Computer Help and Support forum for hopefully get answers to other questions I can't answer
The Computer Help and Support forum:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

Just did. Appreciate your suggestions.

Will configuring via the browser also fix the Outlook client? This is via IMAP.

Last edited Thu Jun 18, 2026, 09:06 PM - Edit history (1)

....since the email goes to the gmail server, and the server does not know what client you use (and you might use both), it performs this processing regardless.

I found out about this on my own, when I logged into the google web interface by chance. I only do that maybe once or twice a year since I use thunderbird. The web interface was different and confusing. When I researched how to get it back to what I consider normal, it told me to switch off the "smart" features and it would go back to what I was expecting.

I do not like "smart features" and try to avoid them. But I am not paranoid about "evil AI" or "evil Google." Its a trade off and it is driven by a mass, world wide market, not anyone's individual preferences.

Wishing it could be answered in a thread there.

The Computer Help and Support forum:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

.... does not know which client you may be using: web, outlook, Thunderbird, etc. And you can mix and match. So it performs the same processing on incoming and outgoing emails regardless of which client you may be using.

The outlook and the thunderbird clients communicate to the sever through a standard protocol called IMAP. IMAP is a universal standard so it does not support proprietary "smart" features. The browser interface, however, runs on Google's servers and is adjacent to the email server. Because it is "inside the box" it does not need to use a standard protocol and can support the "smart features." However, the email server will process the emails in the same way, regardless.

It seems like Google is saying that if you turn off the "smart" features, then the "smart" processing is not done. This would make sense, but it could be that they just suppress the smart features without actually stopping the smart processing. As far as the browser user would know, it's all back to being dumb. But the absence of the smart features does not necessarily mean that the processing behind the scenes has changed.

Maybe it's an argument included in the class action (I don't have time right now to search for it but I would like to see it posted in a new OP).

for their AI settings, it's under Settings - Privacy and security
There is also a catagory called 'AI Innovations' (I just turned that one off)

This isn't for email per se. It's for browsing, but I thought I'd add...


sorry for the threadjack




P.S. I don't see any of the OP's path references on my Android either

I originally made the account to take the place of my spam-riddled yahoo account, but the gmail account started getting clogged with spam so fast that I never made the switch. *sigh*

Spam is the bane of my email existence!

unchecked and inoperative. I have received invitations to turn on AI assistance in the past but never accepted the offers. So, clearly, my google mail defaults did not include smart features. I'l check my phone settings next.

The Computer Help and Support forum:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

If any more informations are needed.

Thanks everyone for my OP getting to the top of Greatest! Important stuff.

I think the user has to turn them on first. At least that was the case on my apple desktop and phone. I caution people on accepting offers from Google to "improve performance" with AI.