Googles Gemini AI Now Can Read Your Messages and Notes on Android—Heres How to Opt-Out

Google has introduced a modification that enables the Gemini AI engine to interact with third-party applications such as WhatsApp, even if users have previously configured their devices to block such interactions. Security researchers are already looking for ways to maintain privacy.

The company sent users an email with a link to a page stating that «human reviewers (including service providers) read, comment on, and process» data accessed by Gemini. The email does not provide any helpful suggestions for blocking this interaction. It merely mentions that users can disable applications that Gemini interacts with, yet even in these cases, data is retained for 72 hours.

The email does not clarify how users can completely remove Gemini from their Android devices. It notes that Gemini will have access to applications like WhatsApp, Messages, and Phone «regardless of whether» the AI service is active.

As a result, neither the email nor the support pages it references inform Android users on how to eliminate the Gemini integration. Instead, they can visit a separate support page to learn how to manage application settings. An ArsTechnica journalist attempted to follow these instructions. He found that while Gemini was disabled on his device, it was noted that the AI «does not retain activity for more than 72 hours.»

In response to his inquiry about disabling Gemini integration, Google’s support team stated, «This update is beneficial for users: it allows them to utilize Gemini for daily tasks on their mobile devices, such as sending messages, making calls, and setting timers, while the Gemini apps are inactive. In this mode, their chats in Gemini are not checked or used to enhance our AI models.»

Meanwhile, a researcher from the cloud-based provider of secure email and calendar services, Tuta, published practical recommendations. The suggestions indicate that disabling Gemini app activity is likely to prevent data collection beyond the temporary retention of information for 72 hours. If the Gemini app is not already installed, it will not be installed once the changes take effect. The researcher advises completely removing the AI from the device. This can be done using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which Google provides for developers. Users need to delete the app by executing the command `adb shell pm uninstall com.google.android.apps.bard`. However, when the journalist tried this, the system returned an error message stating «Failed [DELETE_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR].» He noted that this response could be interpreted in two ways — it could mean either that Gemini has been removed from the device or that the AI assistant was never installed at all.

Previously, it was reported that Gemini would gain access to WhatsApp, Messages, and Phone on July 7. At that time, it was mentioned that AI access could be restricted by navigating to «Gemini» > «Profile» > «Apps» > «Disable individual app extensions.» Users could also turn off Gemini Apps activity by going to «Gemini» > «Profile» > «Gemini Apps Activity» > «Disable.» However, even in these situations, Google might retain user activity data for 72 hours.