Does Gemini Know Too Much?
So, Google has now given its AI tool, Gemini Deep Research, the ability to read through your Gmail messages, your Google Docs, your Drive files and even your Google Chat conversations. Yes, all those things you said you would delete “tomorrow.” Interestingly, it can only do this if you give it permission first. The worrying bit is that most people click “Agree” before even breathing, because apparently, those who read those long terms and conditions are annoyingly paranoid?
Google says this new feature is meant to help you organize your life. It will summarise your emails, pick important information from your documents, remind you of things you forgot, and basically act like your personal assistant, only that this one doesn’t ask for transport refund. It sounds helpful until you realise you have just invited a robot into the deepest corners of your personal life.
Those emails in your inbox, that message you never replied to from 2018, the conversation with your landlord, the receipts you saved in Drive, the draft love letter you wrote in Docs but never sent. Even those jokes you and your friends make on Google Chat, Gemini can now access all of it. And even though Google promises to keep your privacy protected, once you open that door, you might find out why you shouldn’t have the hard way, with information you sometimes fear even showing your best friend being shared out there.
AI systems can be tricked by hidden instructions inside innocent-looking emails or documents. Someone could send you a document with malicious commands secretly written inside. Gemini, thinking it is being helpful, could follow them. This is how AI systems get manipulated, not through hacking, but by confusing the machine with cleverly planted instructions. You can call it “prompt injection” or “data poisoning,”
Remember also that Google has a history of playing loosely with people’s information. Just recently in the U.S., they were found guilty of collecting user data even when people had turned tracking off. In another case, Texas accused them of secretly gathering biometric data like people’s voices and face information. Google ended up paying over a billion dollars.
This year, four Ugandan activists dragged Google to court, accusing the company of collecting and processing Ugandans’ personal data without following the law. They said Google was operating in Uganda without registering as required by the Data Protection and Privacy Act, and was even transferring people’s data outside Uganda without proper safeguards. The case was serious enough that Uganda’s own Data Protection Office later ruled that Google had indeed failed to comply with the law. They were ordered to register properly and prove that they could handle Ugandans’ data responsibly.
So, as you excitedly embrace this feature, allowing Gemini access to your Gmail and Drive like a brand-new friend, remember this same company is already under fire for not handling data so well. You don’t need to run off the grid or abandon all your gadgets like you’re escaping the world. Just make sure that whatever information you’re keeping in that space you are allowing Gemini into is something you can live with if a glitch ever exposes it.
The good thing is you can turn it off. If you feel like Gemini is starting to “over know things,” you can simply go to your Google Account settings and remove its access. Open your Google account, go to the security section, find the apps connected to your account and remove Gemini from the list. You can also go straight into the Gemini settings and switch off permission for Gmail, Drive, Docs and Chat. It will ask if you’re sure like it is heartbroken, don’t give in, it is a robot, it has no feelings. Protect your sanity.
At the end of the day, for us ordinary people, sometimes you just want to open your Gmail without feeling like someone is reading over your shoulder. So, take your time, understand what you’re agreeing to, and if something feels uncomfortable, just switch it off. Your inbox has seen enough drama. It doesn’t need an audience.
Google says this new feature is meant to help you organize your life. It will summarise your emails, pick important information from your documents, remind you of things you forgot, and basically act like your personal assistant, only that this one doesn’t ask for transport refund. It sounds helpful until you realise you have just invited a robot into the deepest corners of your personal life.
Those emails in your inbox, that message you never replied to from 2018, the conversation with your landlord, the receipts you saved in Drive, the draft love letter you wrote in Docs but never sent. Even those jokes you and your friends make on Google Chat, Gemini can now access all of it. And even though Google promises to keep your privacy protected, once you open that door, you might find out why you shouldn’t have the hard way, with information you sometimes fear even showing your best friend being shared out there.
AI systems can be tricked by hidden instructions inside innocent-looking emails or documents. Someone could send you a document with malicious commands secretly written inside. Gemini, thinking it is being helpful, could follow them. This is how AI systems get manipulated, not through hacking, but by confusing the machine with cleverly planted instructions. You can call it “prompt injection” or “data poisoning,”
Remember also that Google has a history of playing loosely with people’s information. Just recently in the U.S., they were found guilty of collecting user data even when people had turned tracking off. In another case, Texas accused them of secretly gathering biometric data like people’s voices and face information. Google ended up paying over a billion dollars.
This year, four Ugandan activists dragged Google to court, accusing the company of collecting and processing Ugandans’ personal data without following the law. They said Google was operating in Uganda without registering as required by the Data Protection and Privacy Act, and was even transferring people’s data outside Uganda without proper safeguards. The case was serious enough that Uganda’s own Data Protection Office later ruled that Google had indeed failed to comply with the law. They were ordered to register properly and prove that they could handle Ugandans’ data responsibly.
So, as you excitedly embrace this feature, allowing Gemini access to your Gmail and Drive like a brand-new friend, remember this same company is already under fire for not handling data so well. You don’t need to run off the grid or abandon all your gadgets like you’re escaping the world. Just make sure that whatever information you’re keeping in that space you are allowing Gemini into is something you can live with if a glitch ever exposes it.
The good thing is you can turn it off. If you feel like Gemini is starting to “over know things,” you can simply go to your Google Account settings and remove its access. Open your Google account, go to the security section, find the apps connected to your account and remove Gemini from the list. You can also go straight into the Gemini settings and switch off permission for Gmail, Drive, Docs and Chat. It will ask if you’re sure like it is heartbroken, don’t give in, it is a robot, it has no feelings. Protect your sanity.
At the end of the day, for us ordinary people, sometimes you just want to open your Gmail without feeling like someone is reading over your shoulder. So, take your time, understand what you’re agreeing to, and if something feels uncomfortable, just switch it off. Your inbox has seen enough drama. It doesn’t need an audience.
