Google is using your Search uploads to train AI — here's how to opt out
If you've ever sent a photo to Google Lens or spoken a voice search, Google can now use that media to train its AI models — by default, without you doing anything. The company announced the change in a June 2026 email to users, but it drew little attention until TechCrunch flagged it on July 6 as an "under-the-radar update." If you use Google Search services and haven't adjusted your privacy settings, your uploads are already included.
What's covered
The policy applies to media you send through Google's Search-related services: photos run through Google Lens for visual search, audio from voice queries, files uploaded to Google Translate, and similar inputs. Google Photos is explicitly excluded — personal images stored there are not affected. The scope is limited to what you actively push into Search tools, not your broader Google account storage.
This fits a wider pattern across the tech industry: companies expanding the real-world data feeding their generative AI systems. Google's move mirrors similar policy shifts at other major platforms, though the default-on approach is what's drawing criticism. The CMA's January 2026 publisher settlement already required Google to offer strict opt-outs for web crawling; consumer advocates note this user-data policy follows the same "difficult to opt-out" structure that Digiday flagged in those publisher negotiations.
Google Search services — including Lens and Translate — are covered by the new default-on media training policy.
How to opt out
The process takes a few steps. Go to your Search Services History page in your Google account settings and turn off Save Media. Then check your Search Services Personalization settings to confirm Google isn't storing related data. You need to do both — toggling one alone may not be sufficient.
The FTC has increased scrutiny of default-on AI training data practices, and opt-out complexity is a recurring concern in that context. Google has not issued a specific statement addressing the consent framing or whether the opt-out fully stops retroactive data use.
The bottom line
This doesn't affect casual Google Search text queries or anything in Google Photos. But if you regularly use Lens to identify products or plants, translate documents by uploading images, or use voice search, those inputs are now training data unless you act. The opt-out exists — it just requires finding it.