If you’re an Android user, you might’ve received an email from Google recently that raised some eyebrows—especially if you care about privacy. The message? Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, is about to get a lot more involved in your digital life, whether you’ve opted in or not.

What’s Changing?
Starting July 7, Gemini will be able to interact with apps like Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities on your device—even if you’ve turned off “Gemini Apps Activity.” That means the assistant could potentially access and act on your personal communications and phone functions by default.

Google says this is meant to help users complete everyday tasks more easily—like sending texts, making calls, or setting timers. And yes, that sounds convenient. But it also raises a big question: How much access is too much?

The Privacy Catch
While Google assures users that they can disable these features in the app settings, the email doesn’t clearly explain how to do that or what exactly gets turned off. And when Gemini Apps Activity is on, your interactions with the AI can be stored for up to 72 hours—and may even be reviewed by humans.

Even with activity tracking off, Gemini still needs deep access to your apps to function. That’s a lot of trust to place in a system that’s not always transparent about what it’s doing with your data.

Why It Matters
This shift is part of a bigger trend: AI assistants are becoming more “agentic”—meaning they can take actions on your behalf. That’s great for convenience, but it also means handing over more control and more personal data.

We’ve been here before with voice assistants, but this feels even more invasive. If we’re not careful, we could end up sharing sensitive information without fully realizing it—or without giving clear consent.

What You Can Do
If you’re not comfortable with this level of access, you can manage Gemini’s permissions by visiting gemini.google.com/apps. It’s worth taking a few minutes to review what the assistant can and can’t do on your device.

Final Thoughts
AI is becoming more powerful and more integrated into our lives. That’s exciting—but it also means we need to stay informed and vigilant. Convenience is great, but not at the cost of privacy. Personally, I’d rather order my own Uber than let an AI read my texts.

Thanks to Gizmodo and Reddit for this update
https://gizmodo.com/google-to-gemini-users-were-going-to-look-at-your-texts-whether-you-like-it-or-not-2000620141

David Snell joins Rob Hakala and Beth Foster of the South Shore’s Morning News on 95.9 WATD fm every Tuesday at 8:11
You can listen to this broadcast here: https://actsmartit.com/gemini-ai-wantsaccess-to-your-messages/