Google Adds New Personal Data Protection to Gmail
- Paul Thurrott
- Nov 16, 2020
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Google this morning announced that it is adding a setting to Gmail that will determine whether your data is used to enable “smart features” across Gmail, Meet, and Chat.
“People have come to expect easier control of their data, and … we’ve been on a mission to take the work out of managing your privacy,” Google’s Maalika Manoharan wrote in the announcement post. “In the coming weeks, we’re launching … a new setting for smart features and personalization in Gmail.”
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This new setting impacts what Google calls “smart” features: Things like tabbed inbox, Smart Compose, and Smart Reply in Gmail; bill reminders in Google Assistant; and restaurant reservations in Google Maps. Currently, these features are enable across various Google services, but the new setting will help users more easily understand the benefits of the enabling them.
“Smart features rely on your data to save you time and provide a more helpful experience,” Manoharan adds. “We want you to use them because you find value in using them, not because they’re simply there.”
Google notes that this new smart feature setting is just the latest in a series of privacy protections that it’s added to Gmail. Other recent additions include making auto-delete the default and the Privacy Checkup tool. The firm also says that Gmail now blocks 99.9 percent of spam, phishing, and malware from reaching customer inboxes.