Google sued over secret Gemini AI activation in Gmail

Code Mastery Centre
13 Nov, 2025

 

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Google is confronting a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging the company secretly activated its Gemini AI assistant across Gmail, Chat, and Meet in October 2025, enabling the technology to access users' private communications without explicit consent.

The complaint, filed late Tuesday in federal court in San Jose, California, accuses the tech giant of violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act by covertly switching on Gemini across its communication platforms after previously offering the AI feature as an optional tool. The case, titled Thele v. Google LLC (25-cv-09704), seeks damages and an injunction to prevent Google from using Gemini to collect user communications without explicit approval.

Allegations of Hidden Data Collection

According to the complaint, Google's October rollout gave Gemini sweeping access to users' entire communication histories, including every email, attachment, chat message, and video call transcript. The lawsuit contends that while Google technically allows users to disable the feature, the opt-out process requires navigating through multiple buried privacy settings without any notification that Gemini had been activated by default.​

"Unless they take that step, Google uses Gemini to access and exploit the entire recorded history of its users' private communications, including literally every email and attachment sent and received in their Gmail accounts," the complaint states.​

The suit alleges this approach constitutes "secret data acquisition" that violates the 1967 California statute prohibiting surreptitious recording of confidential communications without consent from all parties involved.

Privacy Concerns Mount for Tech Giants

The lawsuit arrives amid heightened scrutiny of how major technology firms integrate AI into consumer products. Earlier this year, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly halted integration of Google's Gemini over concerns about customer data sharing, according to cryptocurrency exchange Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss.​

Google has not yet issued a public response to the allegations. According to the company's privacy documentation updated November 4, 2025, Gemini in Google Workspace is designed to keep customer data confidential, with interactions staying within organizations and content not used for AI training without permission.​

Privacy experts say the case could become one of the most consequential AI privacy battles to date, potentially forcing changes to how technology companies deploy AI assistants and setting precedents for consent requirements in AI-enabled tools.

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