Google to Allow Disabling of Smart Features and Personalisation in Gmail, Chat, Meet

Gmail is about to get two new settings for turning off data usage that helps Google offer smart features and personalisation experiences. These new settings will let you disable smart features like automatic sorting of emails in primary, social, and promotions category or smart compose while writing an email, and even summary cards that show up above emails. Users will also gain the ability to disable personalisation features like Google Assistant reminding you of your next bill payment, or even travel bundling your itineraries.

On its blog, Google has confirmed that these two new settings will go live in Gmail in the ‘coming weeks’. These new settings are for controlling whether your data in Gmail, Meet and Chat can be used to offer ‘smart features’ in these and other Google products. Disabling these settings will prevent Google from using your data to provide these personal experiences to you. These options can be enabled/ disabled anytime in Gmail settings.

If you choose to not allow smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet to use your data, then you won’t be getting automatic email categorisation into the Promotions, Social, and Primary inboxes, you won’t be able to use smart compose while typing an email, nor will you see summary cards for shopping, travel reservations, and package tracking, and neither will there be any calendar event creation from dates and other details in emails.

Similarly, if you choose to not personalise other Google products with your Gmail, Chat, and Meet data, then Google Assistant won’t be able to offer you bill reminders, Google Maps will not offer restaurant reservations, and Google Pay won’t surface any loyalty cards and tickets.

Google explains in its blog, “Smart features rely on your data to save you time and provide a more helpful experience, we want you to use them because you find value in using them, not because they’re simply there.” The tech giant says that these new settings will be enabled for an individual Gmail user and even a Google Workspace administrator.