Google’s Gemini AI Now Taps Into Apps Like WhatsApp Even If You Turned It Off

Google has given a significant update to its Gemini AI, enabling it to access and engage with third-party applications such as WhatsApp, Messages, and Phone, even if users had already opted out of this.

For many Android users, this is not acceptable since they are exposed to AI. This also means that their data is at risk of being used without consent.

Google said that the update is just an integration into the chatbot. However, rather than being straightforward in their instructions, Google’s message caused users to be confused and, in a few instances, frightened.

Gemini Now Overrides Previous App’s Block Settings


Google’s Gemini AI Now Taps Into Apps Like WhatsApp Even

Solen Feyissa/Unsplash

As stated by Google’s email, the update will automatically activate Gemini to work with third-party apps, whether Gemini App Activity has been disabled or not. Although the company says features previously disabled will stay off, the contradictory language used in the same email erodes user trust.

Worst still, information gathered through Gemini is retained for as long as 72 hours, even when users try to block access to certain apps. Though Google promises users that human evaluators will not use data for training AI when App Activity is turned off, the ambiguous language and absence of a precise opt-out mechanism have generated criticism.

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Support Pages Add Confusion, Not Clarity

Google’s email referred to several support pages full of contradictions and lacking directions. Gemini settings users were frequently led through several steps with minimal solution. Even long-time Android users, according to Dan Goodin of Ars Technica, complained about the frustration they experienced while trying to figure out if Gemini was installed or how to turn it off entirely.

When trying to access Gemini app settings through a browser or Pixel device, users were informed activity wasn’t being stored, only to find out seconds later that temporary storage still happens.

Taking Gemini Away from the Average User Isn’t Easy

For those who wish to totally remove Gemini AI from their phones, it is no easy task to uninstall it. There’s a workaround, however, with the Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a command line tool for developers.

The adb shell pm uninstall com.google.android.apps.bard command won’t work either. Others, like researchers and journalists, received failure messages like DELETE_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR.

In brief, there isn’t a simple, user-friendly method to delete Gemini completely. Some wonder if Gemini is just concealed from their view.

Privacy Activists Raise the Alarm

Privacy industry experts like Tuta have compared Google’s coerced Gemini integration to Microsoft’s coercive bundling of Internet Explorer back in the ’90s. That strategy resulted in a colossal antitrust lawsuit, and critics fear that Google is following a similar path.

Tuta’s tip: If Gemini isn’t already installed on your machine, it won’t automatically be installed after the upgrade. And if you know your way around, manual uninstallation through the command line is your way out.

While many Android users may welcome Gemini’s ability to send texts, make calls, and set timers, others are deeply concerned about Google’s lack of transparency and user autonomy.

With no easy opt-out and limited communication, those looking to keep AI off their phones are left navigating an unclear set of instructions and partial truths.

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