Google is reading your WhatsApp messages by default – here’s how to stop it

Google can now read your WhatsApp messages by default, a move experts told Metro raises ‘concerns about user consent’.

Android phone users received an email last week from the tech giant saying that, as of yesterday, Gemini AI, can access third-party apps.

This means that people can pick up their phones and say, ‘send a WhatsApp to [contact],’ and the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot will do just that.

While Gemini has long had this power, the change means the bot will have access even if you previously turned tracking for Gemini Apps Activity off.

The email said: ‘We’ve made it easier for Gemini to interact with your device. We’re updating how Gemini interacts with some of the apps on your Android device.

‘Gemini will soon be able to help you use your Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and utilities on your phone, whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.’

Gemini does not run locally, so all communications it can access are sent to Google, according to tech platform Tuta.

Google stresses that Gemini can’t read your WhatsApp messages or see the images you send.

The app ‘may support some of these actions with help from Google Assistant or the Utilities app, even with WhatsApp disabled in Gemini’, according to a Google support webpage.

The page adds that to help improve the ‘quality’ of Gemini, ‘human reviewers (including service providers) read, annotate, and process your Gemini Apps conversations’.

Google says: ‘Please don’t enter confidential information in your conversations or any data you wouldn’t want a reviewer to see or Google to use to improve our products, services, and machine-learning technologies.’

If Gemini has been deleted from your phone and is not integrated into your Android system, it will not be automatically installed after July 7.

Tech experts told Metro that allowing Gemini to access third-party apps by default ‘raises serious concerns about user consent, data boundaries, and AI overreach’.

Daniel Frech, a business advisor at Businessmagnet, said: ‘The issue isn’t just whether Gemini can read your messages, it’s that it could, unless users proactively opt out.

‘That flips the principle of informed consent on its head.’

Andy Callaghan, the founder of the booking system Jammed, said that disabling Gemini’s access isn’t ‘straightforward or easy to find’.

He added: ‘Anyone using Gemini or similar AI assistants should check their settings carefully. Make sure you understand what permissions you’ve granted and revoke any that feel intrusive.’

Gemini is a type of AI called a large language model, an algorithm that trains itself by gobbling up data so it can mimic human speech.

This data can include information from a phone user’s personal log, which Gemini has had access to through downloadable extensions.

Google told Ars Technica that the update is ‘good for users’.

The company added: ‘They can now use Gemini to complete daily tasks on their mobile devices like send messages, initiate phone calls, and set timers while Gemini Apps Activity is turned off.

‘With Gemini Apps Activity turned off, their Gemini chats are not being reviewed or used to improve our AI models.’

Google has been approached for comment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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