First screen, captured 2 days ago. Hover to scroll the page, or open the video.

Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads

What HN thinks

Nobody is surprised, everyone is annoyed, and half the thread is busy installing Immich.

Leave Google, self-host instead
Many commenters urge de-Googling, especially moving photos to self-hosted Immich via Takeout and using non-Gmail email on your own domain.
Opt-in is a dark-pattern fig leaf
The 'only if you choose to link services' caveat is dismissed because Google nags users until they agree and ties basic features to data sharing.
They were already doing it
Many assume Google always mined this data; others note Gmail ad scanning actually stopped in 2017, so this is a real regression.

Consensus: Most see the change as predictable erosion of privacy and distrust Google's consent mechanisms; EU regulation via the DMA is credited for giving Europeans more control.

Recommended in the comments

Immich (tool): Commenters say it is lightweight, runs on cheap hardware and feels better than Google Photos.
immich-go ↗ (tool): It preserved metadata when migrating from Google Takeout.
Tailscale (service): Paired with Immich for easy private remote access.
Ente Photos (service): Praised for polished apps and E2EE.
Purelymail ↗ (service): Cheap and just works.
Fastmail (service): Recommended as a reliable Gmail replacement, ideally with your own domain.

Summarised by Claude from the comment thread 2 days ago.

Points: 315
Comments: 163
Best rank: #9
Posted: 2026-10-23 by JustSkyfall
Category: Security

google privacy-policy targeted-ads gmail google-photos personal-intelligence data-privacy

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