Google hit with class action alleging secret AI email scanning

By WESTLAW Data Privacy Daily Briefing

Google LLC quietly activated its Gemini AI “Smart features” for all users across Gmail, Chat and Meet — letting the company scan users’ private communications without clear notice or consent, according to a proposed class-action lawsuit.

Thele v. Google LLC, No. 25-cv-9704, complaint filed, (N.D. Cal. Nov. 11, 2025).

User Thomas Thele’s complaint, filed Nov. 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, says Google is using Gemini, its artificial intelligence program, to access and exploit users’ private communications and activity, including every email and attachment sent and received in their accounts.

While Google used to present Gemini-powered “Smart features” as optional tools that users could enable for a personalized experience, this policy changed Oct. 10 when the company turned on the features by default across all Gmail, Chat and Meet users’ accounts, the suit says.

The change allows Gemini to scan and analyze emails, attachments, messages and conversations on the three messaging platforms without users’ knowledge, the complaint says.

Google did not provide meaningful notification of this change, Thele says. Instead, Google users need to discover the change themselves, navigate to their account settings, find the “Data privacy” control and manually disable “Smart features,” the suit says.

According to the complaint, the language in Google’s interface is misleading. Although the “Smart features” setting has been on by default since Oct. 10, the interface still presents it as an “opt in” feature, falsely implying that consent is required for activation, the suit says.

The content gained by activating Gemini can now be combined with existing data profiles Google maintains on individual users, allowing for cross-referencing of sensitive message content with vast amounts of behavioral and account data, the complaint says.

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Read Full Article Here…(today.westlaw.com)

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