if you don't use the app but the good old web browser on a PC/Mac:

1. Click on the cog to get to the Settings.
2. Click See all Settings.
3. Click the General tab.
4. Ctrl/Cmd-F to find the 'Smart features' and uncheck it. You may want to check in "Manage Google Workspace smart features" if everything is turned off.

Or just stop using Gmail.

https://tuta.com/blog/how-to-disable-gemini-on-android

Tuta is always pretty quick to report on these things. 🙂

All the suggestions in this thread are good, but for anyone who doesn't want to self-host or change providers entirely (because changing your email is an absolute pain in the ass):

At least get a different mail client. You don't have to use the official Gmail App to access Gmail! I personally really like FairEmail, because it's open source, has no unnecessary bells and whistles, and just works. It takes less than 5mins to download it and move Gmail over there completely, with no risk of losing any data or missing any mails.

I did all that ages ago and re-confirmed, it's still all disabled...

But Gemini persists:

That's assuming the setting is respected server-side, of course. With the track record of company doing AI training, respect of rules and law isn't really part of their actions.

Don't use gmail?

From all things in the modern world, E-Mail is the easiest to have for yourself.

Proton has their own AI bullshit:

https://lumo.proton.me/

At least it’s not rummaging around your email though.

And just so you know, it is not end-to-end encrypted like their email is when emailing another Proton user: https://lumo.proton.me/legal/privacy

The only way to have actually private AI is to run it on your own hardware.

I'm slowly moving my accounts over from gmail to protonmail.

Privacy should be the default, not the exception.

LOL I did and these fuckers decided to disable my widget. It only shows my inbox as empty. Yeah I definitely need to continue my de-googlifying.

Google promises(new window) that Gmail’s 3 billion users will benefit from a “personal, proactive inbox assistant”. But given that these features are free, what’s the catch? Make no mistake, Google isn’t doing this out of generosity. The contents of your inbox are valuable to the company.

Email used to be a more private space where your communications could potentially be intercepted by bad actors, but largely your data was your own.

I dont think that is true wrt gmail is it? Google have been scanning your messages and using that for machine learning based ad targeting since it was released.

How to turn off Gemini in one step:

1. Stop using google's services.

If i was actually running my own competing service I'd probably suggest switching to it instead of writing a blog post to help people use my competition, but i guess thats why I don't work in marketing, this must be some big brained 4-d chess move.

Why does it matter if its googles "AI' slurping up your emails, or just their massive advertising and tracking network? Do the ads seem less intrusive if they're just coming from adsense instead of gemini? Are people actually foolish enough to think "disabling" a feature like this actually stops google from constantly scanning every single one of their emails?

I'm going to call this now, Proton will be just as bad as google in 5-10 years. It shows in how they are totally bad faith promoting themselves as a better alternative they have one goal in mind and it's the same one as cancer.

Ooooorrrrrr...... You knowww........... Delete or stop using your google account and their services?

Because if what actually bothers you is the idea that Google is spying on your things with Gemini....

First: lol. lmao even.

Second: Sorry for the laugh, but that's because I believe that they don't need gemini to do that, they do it anyway regardless of your settings.

Case in point, last year google was sentenced to pay a fine because they were collecting data from their users, even though those users had tracking turned off in their settings. And I believe it wasn't the first time, but I can't be arsed to search for older examples.

An ad company that has trackers almost everywhere on the web and tracks you even if you're not using their services, that understanding and studying your behaviour is a central part of their business model; and you believe that they won't spy and track you because you asked them not to? C'mon

Or... Migrate to another email service provider?

I am happy I don't need google products for anything. I have been using Mailfence for several years and been fine with it. For folks who can leave gmail, there are multiple good options, at least for email.

Proton ad

Step 1: Use an open source mail client that doesn't contain trackers like FairEmail instead of Google's app.

Step 2 (optional but recommended): Get another email service that respects privacy.

I need to someday self-host a gmail archive