We're Checking Your Messages Regardless of Your Opinion

The idea of agentic AI is pretty appealing. Like, sure, I want AI to order my Uber, summarize my calendar, or buy cat food when I run out so my little monster doesn’t go hungry, but all of those very simple things actually involve a great deal of trust. You need to be okay with handing over your payment information, your day-to-day activities, and little pieces of your life that might otherwise be totally private. That required level of intimacy is why it’s important to be able to opt out of using agentic AI, and also the reason why people are so concerned by Google’s recent messaging on that front.

As highlighted in a Reddit post, Google recently sent out an email to some Android users informing them that Gemini will now be able to “help you use Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities on your phone whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.” That change, according to the email, will take place on July 7. In short, that sounds—at least on the surface—like whether you have opted in or out, Gemini has access to all of those very critical apps on your device.

Google continues in the email, which was screenshotted by Android Police, by stating that “if you don’t want to use these features, you can turn them off in Apps settings page,” but doesn’t elaborate on where to find that page or what exactly will be disabled if you avail yourself of that setting option. Notably, when App Activity is enabled, Google stores information on your Gemini usage (inputs and responses, for example) for up to 72 hours, and some of that data may actually be reviewed by a human. That’s all to say that enabling Gemini access to those critical apps by default may be a bridge too far for some who are worried about protecting their privacy or wary of AI in general. Gizmodo has reached out to Google for further clarification on what data may be collected by default as a result of this change. We’ll update this story if we receive a response.

Whether there are additional privacy concerns with this specific change or not, the fact that Gemini needs access to some of your most personal information to realize the vision of agentic AI kind of says everything you need to know. As generative AI and chatbots get integrated deeper and deeper into our phones, we’ll have to have a sober conversation about just when and where we’re okay with data being collected. To me, it’s like the conversation about voice assistants all over again, except somehow even more fraught and pervasive. The worst part is, if we’re not careful, all of that information might end up being collected without our consent, or at least without our knowledge. I don’t know about you, but as much as I want AI to order me a cab, I think keeping my text messages private is a higher priority.