Google Search AI Training Is On By Default
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- Google is rolling out a new "Search Services History" setting globally over the coming months that captures images, files, audio, and video from Search interactions — including Google Lens images, Search Live recordings, Translate speaking practice, content uploads, and voice searches — for AI model training.
- The feature is enabled by default for users who haven't previously disabled Web & App Activity and Search Personalization, and opting out requires visiting Google's My Activity page and unchecking a separate "Save media" box in addition to turning off the main setting.
- Even after opting out, disconnected training data is retained for up to 4 years, per a Google pop-up, meaning deleting the original Search activity does not remove the AI training copy.
- Google's June 23 email to users framed the change as offering "even more control" and gave helpful-use examples for saved media (revisiting Lens searches, resuming Search Live conversations) but offered no comparable examples when disclosing the AI training application.
- Google spokesperson Davis Thompson said the new settings can be turned on or off anytime but did not answer WIRED's question about why the feature is on by default.
- EFF's Thorin Klosowski called opt-in the "bare minimum," arguing Google's broad service portfolio and large user base give it a structural data-collection edge over competitors — and that built-in inertia keeps users from switching even when they dislike the change.
- Consumer Federation of America's Ben Winters said default-on AI training designs contribute to widespread "powerlessness and hopelessness," forcing everyday users into constant privacy math for every service they use.
Why it matters: Google holds a structural data-collection advantage from its many embedded services, and the opt-out window has a hard ceiling: disconnected training data persists up to 4 years, so proactive deletion doesn't undo consent. Both EFF and Consumer Federation of America argue the default-on design is the wrong baseline, leaving Google's billions of users — rather than the company — carrying the privacy burden.
