To stop Google using your data to train its AI, open your Google Account activity controls, find the new Search Services History section, and turn off the Save Media toggle. That single switch governs the images, files, and audio you send to Google features like Lens, voice search, and Translate. It matters because in 2026 Google made Save Media a separate control, so if you turned off the older Web and App Activity setting years ago, this one can still be quietly on.
This is not a generic warning about AI. It is one specific, current change to how Google Search handles the media you upload, and there is a precise place to switch it off. Below is exactly what changed, what data it covers, why the separate toggle is the catch, the step by step opt out, and what turning it off does and does not do.
What actually changed in mid 2026
Google added a new activity control called Search Services History, with a sub setting called Save Media, and updated the language to say your saved media helps develop and improve Google services including AI models. The change was announced in June 2026 through a customer email, the rollout began that month, and reporting on the opt out landed in early July 2026. The shift is notable because Google moved from vague wording about improving services to naming AI model training directly.
Search Services History is broader than classic web search. It spans Google Search, Lens, Translate, Maps, and Shopping, and the Save Media piece specifically covers the pictures, recordings, and files that flow through those features. Google's own statement, as quoted in the reporting, says saved media is used to develop and improve Google services and technologies, including AI models and safety measures.
The core issue is not that Google trains AI. Most large platforms do. The issue is that the control was split into a new toggle that many privacy conscious users have never seen, so an old opt out no longer covers it.
What data the Save Media setting can cover
The Save Media control covers media you actively send to Google Search features, not every file on your device. Based on the July 2026 reporting, that includes several categories.
- Images you run through Google Lens, such as a photo of a document, a product, or a page of notes.
- Voice and audio from voice search and the Search Live feature.
- Speaking practice audio recorded in Google Translate.
- Files and video you upload or interact with inside these Search services.
- The associated activity records that tie those uploads to your account.
The files and video line is the part worth reading twice. Older search history was mostly text: the words you typed and the links you tapped. The change widens that to the actual media you hand over, which for many people is more personal than a query string. A photo run through Lens can show a bank statement, a medical form, a child's schoolwork, or a handwritten note, because that is exactly the kind of thing people point a camera at to search. The setting does not reach into files you never sent to Google, but everything you did send through these features is in scope while Save Media is on.
One number is worth pinning down. Reporting on the change states that when Save Media is on, Google can retain this media for up to four years and use it to develop and improve its AI models. There are auto delete controls, so you can shorten how long entries are kept. The reporting describes options to have entries removed automatically after roughly three months, eighteen months, or thirty six months, but unless you choose one, the window stays long.
Scale is the reason this got attention. Google Search reaches billions of people, and Lens and voice search are used constantly for everyday tasks like reading a menu, checking a label, or translating a sign. When a feature that popular ships with media saving on by default, the number of people contributing uploads to model development without a deliberate choice is enormous. That is the practical weight behind an opt out story that would otherwise be a footnote in a settings page.
There are guardrails, and a fair reading of the change should name them. According to the reporting, Google says the media used for AI model training is anonymized and decoupled from individual accounts, so it is not meant to be tied back to you by name. The reporting also notes that human review of your media, the case where a person actually looks at a sample, requires separate consent rather than being folded into this default. Those points do not remove the core objection, which is that participation is a default you have to find and switch off, but they do mean the picture is more nuanced than a straight data grab.
Before you change anything, it helps to know the difference between what you send and what you store. A photo you snap into Lens to search is media you send to Google. A photo sitting in your own gallery is not part of this setting. This post is about the first kind.
Why the separate toggle is the real catch
The most important detail is that turning off Save Media is separate from the older Web and App Activity setting. According to the reporting, if you previously opted out of Web and App Activity, that choice does not automatically carry over to the new Search Services History setting. In other words, a privacy decision you made years ago may not cover this.
The reverse is also true and easy to miss. If you had Web and App Activity turned on, which most people do, the new Save Media toggle starts out enabled for you. Because it is opt out rather than opt in, the default is participation. That design is why coverage of the change framed it as something you have to go and switch off yourself.
How to check and turn off Save Media, step by step
Here is the direct path. The rollout is gradual, so your account may or may not show the new section yet. Both cases are covered below. Sign in to the Google Account you actually use for search first.
If you see Search Services History
- Go to your Google Account, then Data and privacy, then find the activity controls.
- Open the Search Services History section.
- Turn off the Save Media toggle. This stops media being saved and used for AI training while leaving the rest of your history as is.
- Optional: while you are there, set an auto delete window so older entries clear on a schedule.
- Optional: use the option to turn off Search Services History entirely if you want the broader control.
If you do not see it yet
- Open the Web and App Activity setting in the same activity controls area.
- To keep normal search history but block media use, uncheck the sub options labeled around voice and audio activity and visual or Lens search history.
- To be fully off, disable Web and App Activity entirely. Reporting notes this keeps the new Search Services History off once your account transitions to it.
- Check back after a few weeks, since the section is rolling out to accounts over time, then confirm Save Media is off.
Labels shift between web and mobile and can change during a rollout. If the exact wording differs on your screen, look for anything mentioning Search services, Save media, visual or Lens history, and voice and audio activity, and search the Google Account help pages for Search Services History to find the current page for your account.
How to also clear what has already been collected
Turning off Save Media only affects the future. To deal with media already saved, you delete existing activity. In the same activity controls area, open your saved activity and use the delete options to remove entries by date range or all at once, then confirm the deletion. This is the step people skip, and it is the only way to reduce what has already been gathered.
- Turn off Save Media first, so new uploads stop being saved.
- Set an auto delete window, for example a shorter period rather than the long default, so entries clear on a schedule going forward.
- Manually delete existing activity for the categories you care about, such as visual and voice history.
- Repeat the check on each device and browser you use, since you are signed in to the same account across all of them.
- Revisit after the rollout reaches your account to make sure the Search Services History section shows Save Media as off.
What turning it off does and does not do
Turning off Save Media stops Google from saving new media from Search features and from using it to develop and improve its AI models going forward. That is the whole point of the switch, and it works from the moment you flip it.
It does not undo the past. The retention window means content already collected can remain in Google's systems for the length of that window unless you also delete existing activity. It also does not switch off every form of data use across Google, and it may reduce some personalization, since features that lean on your saved media will have less to work with.
To be fair to Google, this data also powers useful things like better visual search results and faster follow up queries, and the auto delete controls do give you a shorter leash. The honest trade is convenience and personalization against having your uploads feed model training. The change simply makes that trade a decision you have to make on purpose. It is also worth checking every so often, because rollouts and defaults can change, and a toggle you set today can be joined by a new one later. Treat the activity controls page as something to review a couple of times a year rather than a one time fix.
| What happens to your uploads | Google Save Media on (default) | MemX private store |
|---|---|---|
| Used to train AI models | Yes, media can be used to develop and improve AI models | No, files are never used to train models |
| Who can access your files | Tied to your account and Google's systems | Isolated per user, not pooled across accounts |
| Default retention | Up to about four years unless you shorten it | Kept until you delete it, no training use in between |
| How you opt out | Find and turn off a separate toggle | No training to opt out of by design |
| Encryption at rest | Managed by Google | Encryption at rest with customer managed keys |
Where a private by architecture store fits
The Save Media change is a good moment to think about where your important files actually live. If you snap a photo of a receipt, an ID, a prescription, or a page of notes just to search it, that upload can become part of a training pipeline you have to remember to switch off. The pain point is not search itself. It is that the tool you used to find something also kept a copy for other purposes, on a retention clock you did not set, and used it in ways you were never asked about directly.
MemX is built for the opposite default. It is a private by architecture memory app where you snap documents, photos, voice notes, and messages now and ask plain questions to find them later. Your content is isolated per user, encrypted at rest with customer managed keys, kept on device where possible, and never used to train models. There is no separate toggle to hunt for, because training on your files is not part of how it works. Snap it now, find it later, without your files becoming training data.
01How do I stop Google from using my data to train its AI?
Open your Google Account activity controls, find the Search Services History section, and turn off the Save Media toggle. If your account does not show that section yet, adjust or disable Web and App Activity, then check back later to confirm Save Media is off once the section appears.
02What is the Google Save Media setting?
Save Media is a control inside the newer Search Services History section. When it is on, Google can save the images, files, and audio you send to features like Lens, voice search, and Translate, and use that media to develop and improve its services and AI models.
03I already turned off Web and App Activity. Am I covered?
Not necessarily. Reporting on the 2026 change says an earlier Web and App Activity opt out does not automatically carry over to the new Search Services History setting. Check the Save Media toggle directly, since it is a separate control and may still be on.
04What data does Google collect through Save Media?
It covers media you actively send to Search features: Lens images, voice and audio from voice search and Search Live, speaking practice audio in Translate, and files or video you upload through these services. It does not cover every file stored privately on your own device.
05Does turning off Save Media delete data Google already has?
No. Turning it off stops new media from being saved and used for training going forward, but it does not erase what was already collected. Reporting notes retention can run up to about four years, so use the auto delete or manual delete options to clear existing activity.
