If you use Google Search, Maps, News, or Lens while account-linked history saving is on, Google says that saved activity can be used to improve Search and related services, including training generative AI models (Google Search Help). If you use Gemini Apps with activity saving on, Google likewise says your saved interactions can be used to improve Google’s services, including generative AI technologies (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub).
The important catch is that Google does not offer one master “don’t train on me” switch. The controls are split: Search-related saved activity sits under Search Services History, Gemini chat saving sits under Gemini Apps Activity / Keep Activity, and audio, video, and screen-share improvement uses a separate opt-in altogether (Google Search Help, Gemini Help). Turning these off mainly changes future training use of saved, account-linked activity. It does not mean Google stops all collection, all retention, or all processing needed to answer your request (Google Search Help, Gemini Apps Privacy Hub).
Google is also in the middle of changing how these controls are presented. Search Services History is replacing older Web & App Activity handling for search products in a gradual rollout, so some users will still see the older control path for now (Google Search Help).
Google now splits Search history from personalization controls
Google’s newer setup separates Search Services History from Personalized Recommendations for Search, Maps, Lens, and News (Google Search Help). That matters because one setting governs whether Google saves account-linked activity that it says can be used for service improvement and generative AI training, while another governs whether Google uses signals to personalize what you see.
Here is the clean version:
| Setting | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Search Services History | Saves your account-linked activity from Search, Maps, Lens, and News; Google says saved history may be used to improve these services, including training generative AI models (Google Search Help). |
| Personalized Recommendations | Controls personalized content and recommendations in supported Google services; it is separate from whether search-related activity is saved (Google Search Help). |
| Gemini Apps Activity / Keep Activity | Controls whether Gemini conversations and related activity are saved to your Google Account and can be used to improve Google’s services, including generative AI technologies (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub, Gemini Help). |
| Audio, video, and screen-share sharing in Gemini | Separate opt-in that allows those media types to be reviewed and used to improve Google services (Gemini Help). |
When Search Services History is on, Google says it saves activity like your searches, interactions with content, and related information from Search, Maps, Lens, and News to your account (Google Search Help). Google also says that saved history “may be used” to improve Search and related services, including generative AI model training (Google Search Help).
When you turn Search Services History off, Google says it will stop saving new search-related activity to your account for that setting going forward (Google Search Help). That is the key consumer win. But it is not the same as a full processing stop. Google still says it may use searches and interactions to provide the service, maintain security, prevent abuse, and comply with legal obligations, even when the history-saving setting is off (Google Search Help).
A second limit is time. Past saved history is not automatically erased just because you flip the switch off. Google’s help page says already saved data remains in your account until you delete it or until auto-delete applies, and data already disconnected from your account may be retained for up to four years for training and improvement purposes (Google Search Help).
That split is the same pattern you see in other AI training data opt-out controls: the switch usually governs a narrow downstream use of saved data, not every upstream act of collection.
Gemini opt-outs stop future training but also disable key app features
Gemini Apps Activity is a separate system from Search Services History, and Google describes it more like a chat log than a browser-history setting (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub). If it is on, Google says it saves your Gemini conversations, related info like language and device details, and feedback you provide; saved activity can be used to improve Google’s services, including generative AI technologies (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub).
Google says that when you turn Gemini Apps Activity off, future chats are not stored in Gemini Apps Activity and are not used to improve Google’s generative AI technologies under that activity-saving program (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub). That is a stronger product-specific training opt-out than many users probably expect from the broader Google account menu.
But the tradeoff is blunt: turning Gemini Apps Activity off can disable features that depend on saved context, and Google says some Gemini Apps features will not work without it (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub). In practice, this is less like flipping an ad-personalization toggle and more like taking memory away from the assistant.
Google’s Keep Activity control adds another layer. The company says Gemini Apps Activity is kept for up to 18 months by default, with options that may include shorter or longer auto-delete windows depending on the product flow (Gemini Help). Turning activity saving off stops new saves, but does not delete old Gemini activity unless you remove it (Gemini Help).
There is also a separate media rule. Audio, video, and screen-share data are governed by an additional opt-in, not just the main Gemini activity toggle (Gemini Help). If you share those inputs and opt in, Google says they may be reviewed and used to improve Google services. That means “I turned Gemini activity off” and “Google cannot retain or learn from any media I shared” are not the same statement.
Google says saved Gemini activity can be used to improve its services, including generative AI technologies, but turning that setting off does not itself erase older saved chats.
Connected apps add one more wrinkle. Google says Gemini can use data from connected services to answer prompts, but disconnecting a connected app does not remove information already saved in Gemini Apps Activity (Gemini Help). Google also says some connected-app content is used to respond to you and personalize the experience without being directly used to train models in the same way as saved Gemini activity (Gemini Help).
What Google still collects after you turn training-related settings off
The simplest accurate answer is: more than many people assume.
After you turn off Search Services History, Google still processes your search and app requests to return results and run the service, and it may still log some information for security, fraud prevention, and legal compliance (Google Search Help). After you turn off Gemini Apps Activity, Gemini can still process prompts and responses in the moment to answer you, and Google says some conversations may be temporarily retained for up to 72 hours for safety and feedback handling even when activity saving is off (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub).
Google also says that training data is disconnected from your account before model training or human review (Google Search Help, Gemini Apps Privacy Hub). That is a real privacy safeguard. It is not the same thing as the data never having come from your activity in the first place.
This is also why consumer opt-outs are narrower than crawl controls. The settings in your Google account affect data tied to your use of Google’s products; they do not solve the broader problem of how AI systems ingest public web content, which is a different fight covered by AI crawl control and opt-out limits and newer AI web-scraping restrictions.
One final boundary: workspace, school, and employer-managed Google accounts can follow different rules and may not show the same controls to end users (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub). If the account is managed, the admin may be the one deciding what is saved and which features are available.
The practical checklist is short. Turn off Search Services History if you do not want future saved Search, Maps, News, and Lens activity feeding Google’s improvement and AI-training pipeline (Google Search Help). Turn off Gemini Apps Activity if you do not want future saved Gemini chats used to improve Google’s generative AI technologies (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub). Then delete old saved history and review any media-sharing opt-ins, because the toggles alone do not clean up what is already there (Google Search Help, Gemini Help).
The next change to watch is the rollout of Search Services History to more accounts as Google continues moving users off the older Web & App Activity search-history model (Google Search Help).
Key Takeaways
- Search Services History controls whether future account-linked activity from Search, Maps, Lens, and News is saved, and Google says saved history may be used to improve those services, including training generative AI models (Google Search Help).
- Gemini Apps Activity is separate from search-related history, and Google says saved Gemini interactions can be used to improve Google’s services, including generative AI technologies (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub).
- Turning these settings off mainly stops future training use of newly saved account-linked activity; it does not automatically stop all collection, all temporary processing, or erase old saved data (Google Search Help, Gemini Help).
- Audio, video, and screen-share improvement in Gemini is controlled by a separate opt-in from the main Gemini activity setting (Gemini Help).
- Google says data used for training or human review is disconnected from your account first, but it is still derived from your product activity (Google Search Help, Gemini Apps Privacy Hub).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does turning off Google Search history stop AI Overviews from using AI?
No. AI Overviews are a product feature in Google Search, and turning off your history setting does not disable Google’s use of AI to generate results. What it changes is whether your future saved, account-linked Search Services History can be used in Google’s stated improvement and training pipeline (Google Search Help).
Is Search Services History the same as Web & App Activity?
Not always. Google says Search Services History is part of a gradual rollout that separates search-related saved activity from other recommendation settings, and some users still see the older Web & App Activity structure instead (Google Search Help). The underlying consumer question is the same: what search-related account history is being saved, and what future uses that enables.
Does turning off Gemini Apps Activity delete old chats?
No. Google says turning the setting off stops future activity from being saved under Gemini Apps Activity, but old saved activity remains until you delete it or auto-delete removes it (Gemini Help). If you want the old chats gone, you need a deletion step, not just the toggle.
Can Google still keep data when Gemini Apps Activity is off?
Yes. Google says some Gemini conversations may be kept for up to 72 hours even with Gemini Apps Activity off, for safety, security, and feedback processing (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub). That is temporary retention, not the same thing as your chat history being saved to the activity log.
Do connected Google apps train Gemini directly?
Not in the simple way many users assume. Google says data from connected apps can be used to help Gemini answer prompts and personalize responses, but disconnecting an app does not remove information already stored in Gemini Apps Activity, and not all connected-app usage is treated as direct model-training input (Gemini Help). The clean rule is to review both the connected-app permission and the Gemini activity log.
References
- Google Search Help, Find & manage Search Services History
- Google Search Help, Get started with Search Services History & Personalized Recommendations
- Google Gemini Help, Gemini Apps Privacy Hub
- Google Gemini Help, Manage & delete your activity in Gemini Apps
- Google Gemini Help, About personalization with Connected Apps
Further Reading
- If you use Google, you’re training its AI. Here’s how to opt out., TechCrunch’s consumer-facing overview of the opt-out question and Google’s split controls.
- Find & manage Search Services History, Google’s primary help page on what Search Services History saves, how it is used, and what changes when it is off.
- Get started with Search Services History & Personalized Recommendations, Google’s explanation of the newer split between history saving and personalization.
- Gemini Apps Privacy Hub, Google’s explanation of what Gemini activity includes, how it may be used, and temporary retention when history is off.
- Manage & delete your activity in Gemini Apps, Google’s details on Keep Activity, auto-delete, and media-sharing controls.
Last reviewed: 2026-07