Google Photos Privacy Policy: Your Pictures Could Influence the Ads You See
An October 16 policy change affects people who connect personal photographs to Google’s AI features. Here’s what changed.
I’ve worked with printed photographs since 1990. When someone scans a picture from 40 years ago, they’re usually thinking about seeing it again, sharing it with relatives, perhaps finding a face they haven’t seen in decades. They’re probably not thinking about advertising. Google’s privacy policy change may give them a reason to.
Under the updated Google Photos privacy policy, information from personal pictures could influence the advertisements someone sees. The exception applies when users voluntarily connect Google Photos to other services that support personalized advertising, such as certain Search features. Simply scanning a photograph doesn’t trigger this. Neither does storing it in Google Photos without enabling the relevant connection.
1. Your Pictures Reveal More Than You Think
Consider a printed vacation photograph from 1978. A station wagon is parked outside a motel, and a sign is visible across the street. Once digitized, software may recognize the vehicle, read the sign, and potentially identify the location. At ScanMyPhotos, we have helped people digitize their old snapshots for decades. A photograph may contain details that went unnoticed when it was taken. Modern image-recognition technology makes some of these details searchable.
The photograph itself hasn’t changed. The technology examining it has.
2. Your Photos, Google’s Ad Decisions
Google previously promised not to base personalized advertisements on content from Google Photos, Gmail, or Drive. The October 16 update added an exception for information users choose to make available to eligible Google services. Google says advertisers cannot access private photo libraries through these connections. Ads aren’t based directly on the original pictures. Search may instead use summaries, excerpts, plus inferences derived from connected content to personalize advertising.
That permission doesn’t establish that any particular photograph has already influenced an ad. Google’s policy permits the practice without revealing how frequently it occurs.
3. Disconnecting May Leave Data Behind
Google’s documentation also explains that certain information processed through connected applications in Search services may be used to train generative AI models. Google states that these models are not trained directly on original imagery from connected Google Photos libraries; instead, derived information may be used. Some processed interactions may be subject to human review, with privacy protections and exceptions as described in Google’s documentation.
Disconnecting an app doesn’t automatically delete information previously saved in Search Services History. That requires a separate review.
4. Check What You’ve Already Connected
Visit Google’s Search personalization settings. Look for Personal Intelligence, then Connected Content Apps. If Google Photos is connected, review its permissions. You can disconnect it.
Next, check My Ad Center for advertising preferences. Visit Google My Activity to review saved activity. Menu names may differ across accounts.
Disabling personalized advertisements does not necessarily disconnect a photo library from Search. I appreciate the way old photographs can be brought back into people’s lives. A picture that has remained in an album since 1975 may suddenly appear on a television screen, revealing details that no one remembered. However, I want people to understand what happens when those pictures become accessible to AI services. Maintain independent copies, review your sharing permissions, and check which applications can access your images.
I’m curious: Did you know connecting Google Photos to AI could influence the ads you see? Does knowing that change your decision?
Revised on October 29, 2026
Mitch Goldstone is CEO and co-founder of ScanMyPhotos.com
