The idea of Agentic is quite attractive. As, of course, I want the AI to order my uber, summarizes my calendar or buy cat food when I exhaust myself so that my little monster is not hungry, but all these very simple things are actually very confident. You must agree to put your payment information, your daily activities and the small pieces of your life which could otherwise be completely private. This level of intimacy required is the reason why it is important to be able to withdraw from the use of agentic AI, as well as the reason why people are so concerned about Google’s recent messaging on this front.
As highlighted in a Reddit articleGoogle recently sent an email to some Android users informing them that Gemini will now be able to “help you use the phone, messages, WhatsApp and public services on your phone, that your Gemini application activity is activated or deactivated.” This change, according to the email, will take place on July 7. In short, it seems – at least on the surface – as if you have opted for or out, Gemini has access to all these very critical applications on your device.
Google continues in the email, which has been capable of screen by Android policeBy declaring that “if you do not want to use these features, you can deactivate them in the Applications Settings page”, but do not develop where to find this page or what will be exactly deactivated if you use this parameter option. Especially when Application activity is activatedGoogle stores information on your use of Gemini (entries and responses, for example) up to 72 hours, and some of this data can actually be examined by a human. This is to say that the activation of access to Gemini to these default critical applications can be a bridge too far for some who fear to protect their privacy or to be wary of AI in general. Gizmodo contacted Google for more clarification on data that can be collected by default due to this change. We will update this story if we receive an answer.
Whether or not there are additional confidentiality problems with this specific change, the fact that Gemini need access to some of your personal information to achieve the vision of agenic AI in whatever everything you need to know. While the AI and the generative chatbots are more and more deeply integrated into our phones, we will have to have a sober conversation on the moment when and we agree with the data collected. For me, it’s like the conversation on vocal assistants, except in a way even more heavy and omnipresent. The worst is that, if we are not paying attention, all this information could end up being collected without Our consent, or at least without our knowledge. I do not know for you, but as much as I want the AI to order a taxi, I think that keeping my private text messages is a higher priority.
