Upcoming Gemini for Android change lets you use more apps with fewer privacy concerns
Google Gemini in itself is powerful, but on Android, you must manually enable Apps — think of them as extensions — to make the AI chatbot even more powerful. Google currently offers several Apps for Gemini, such as Phone, Messages, Utilities, Workspace, and more. Now, in a move that should help assuage some privacy concerns, the company is sending out emails informing users that they can now access some of these extensions even if they have Gemini Apps Activity turned off.
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In the email received by one of my AP colleagues, Google states that starting July 7, 2025, Gemini will “use Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities on your phone, whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.” These extensions enable Gemini to interact with the Phone app, change system settings, and send text or WhatsApp messages to your friends.
Google’s move seems like a win for privacy
Based on Google’s email, it seems the company will allow Gemini to access messages, WhatsApp, and control device system settings without requiring that you enable the Gemini Apps Activity setting for your account. This setting saves your Gemini history to your Google account, potentially allowing for better personalization.
Previously, if you had this setting disabled for your Google account, you weren’t able to use the Messages, Phone, Utilities, or WhatsApp extensions in Gemini (via 9to5Google). Once this change rolls out to your account, you will be able to access these features without having to save your Gemini history on Google’s servers.
Note, however, that regardless of your Gemini Apps Activity setting, Google still stores user activity with Gemini for up to 72 hours. Google says this is done for the sake of safety, security, and user feedback. You can learn more about how these features work in the linked support page Google sent along with this email.
Update: A previous version of this story noted how these changes might be a privacy concern. Now that we have a better understanding of how they will work, largely thanks to some digging done by 9to5Google, we’ve updated the article to reflect that it’s actually quite the contrary — these changes should provide better access to Gemini features for users who don’t want to share their Gemini Apps Activity with Google.
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