Google’s Gemini now remembers your chats automatically—here’s what that means for privacy

Google’s Gemini AI chatbot will now automatically remember details from past conversations to personalize future responses, eliminating the need for users to manually prompt the system to recall previous discussions. The update expands Gemini’s memory capabilities beyond its current manual “remember” feature, positioning Google to compete more directly with ChatGPT’s cross-chat memory functionality while raising questions about AI safety and user privacy.

How it works: Gemini will automatically store and reference key details and preferences from your conversation history to tailor its responses.

• If you previously discussed creating a YouTube channel about Japanese culture, Gemini might later suggest video ideas about trying Japanese food without being prompted to remember that context.
• The feature launches today for Gemini 2.5 Pro users in select countries before expanding to more locations and the Gemini 2.5 Flash model.
• Google enables this automatic memory by default, but users can disable it through the Personal Context settings in the Gemini app.

Privacy concerns: The rollout comes amid growing scrutiny over AI chatbot memory features and their potential psychological impacts.

• A recent New York Times report linked ChatGPT’s cross-chat memory introduction in April to increased reports of “delusional” chats.
• OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, acknowledged the issue last week, saying it was developing additional safety guardrails to detect mental or emotional distress in users.

What Google is saying: The company emphasizes user control and safety measures while defending the personalization benefits.

• “Our focus has been building a personal AI assistant, and Gemini learning your preferences is key to this,” said Google spokesperson Elijah Lawal.
• “Equally crucial is giving you easy controls to choose the experience that’s best for you, so you can turn this feature on and off at any time.”
• Google says it’s “constantly” working to improve its safeguards around the memory feature.

Additional privacy changes: Google is introducing new privacy controls and data usage policies alongside the memory update.

• Starting in the coming weeks, Google will rename its “Gemini Apps Activity” setting to “Keep Activity.”
• Beginning September 2nd, Google will use samples of user file and photo uploads to help improve its services when this setting is enabled (it remains off by default).
• A new “temporary chats” feature will allow private conversations that won’t be saved, remembered, or used for AI training—with these chats automatically deleted after 72 hours.