Google’s help pages say images and audio from Lens, voice search and Search Live can be saved to your account and used to train its generative AI models. Here is where the setting is, what it covers, its defaults, and how to turn it off (checked 2 October 2026).
Key Takeaways
- Google says media from Lens, voice search and Search Live can be used to train its generative AI models when Search Services History and its “Save media” box are on. Both are controlled in your Google Account.
- For accounts that had Web & App Activity on, the new history setting started on; accounts that had it off started off. TechTimes reports Google announced the change by email in June 2026.
- This shifts the debate from “does AI use your text data” to “does AI use your camera and your voice,” which is a materially more personal category of data.
What happened
Google’s help pages answer most of the practical questions. The table summarizes the pages as they read on 2 October 2026; Google says the new settings are rolling out gradually, so your own menus may differ.
| Question | What Google’s help pages say | Help page |
|---|---|---|
| Which setting? | Search Services History, with a ‘Save media’ box under it. It replaces Web & App Activity and Search Personalization for Google’s search services, as the rollout reaches each account. | Get started |
| Which services? | Search, Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News. Chrome, Gemini Apps, Google Assistant and YouTube save history under other settings. | Get started |
| Which media? | Images, files, and audio or video recordings: Google Lens images, uploads, and recordings from Search Live, Translate speaking practice and voice searches. Not media you generate or edit with AI, or share publicly. | Saved media |
| Used for training? | Saved media is used to develop and improve the AI models behind AI Mode, Lens, Translate, Search Live and voice and audio search. | Saved media |
| Safeguards and retention | Data is disconnected from your account before training, and filters remove identifying details. Training data is kept up to 4 years. Google says it asks permission before sharing your media with human reviewers. | Get started |
Default settings depended on what you had before
Google says the new settings are based on your most recent choices for Web & App Activity and Search Personalization. TechTimes reports Google’s email announcing the change went out in June 2026 and drew little attention until early July.
| Your earlier settings | New Search Services History | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Web & App Activity on, Search Personalization on | On | History on; media can be saved if ‘Save media’ is checked |
| Web & App Activity off | Off | History off; future media not used for training |
| Web & App Activity on, Search Personalization off | On (Personalized Recommendations off) | History on; Google says only this setting was turned on |
The Google pages we read do not say whether the ‘Save media’ box started checked on migrated accounts, so check it yourself. They also note that accounts from educational institutions are not used to train generative AI models, and that their choices may vary.
Where the setting is and how to turn it off
These steps are copied in outline from Google’s own pages, linked in Sources; we did not test them on an account. Google says that when Search Services History or ‘Save media’ is off, media from future interactions will not train its generative AI models, unless you provide feedback.
- Go to My Google Activity (myactivity.google.com) and sign in if asked.
- Select Search Services History.
- To stop media being saved, uncheck Save media. To stop history entirely, turn Search Services History off, select Turn off, then choose Turn off or Turn off and delete activity.
- To review or delete saved media, select View and delete saved history; items with an audio icon include a recording.
| If you want to | Do this | What still happens |
|---|---|---|
| Keep text history, stop media training | Uncheck ‘Save media’ | Text history, voice transcripts and generative AI responses are still saved (Google) |
| Stop saving search activity | Turn Search Services History off | Past history you do not delete can still be used |
| Also remove what is saved | Turn off and delete activity, or delete saved media | Media already selected for training is kept up to 4 years, unlinked from your account |
Two cautions from Google’s pages. Turning off Personalized Recommendations does not turn off Search Services History. And turning off ‘Save media’ does not delete media saved earlier; it may still be used to improve Google’s technologies until you delete it.
If you have not received the new settings, Google says history is still controlled by Web & App Activity.
Its Visual Search History page says that setting is off by default; on Android, go to Settings, Google, Manage your Google account, Data & privacy, Web & App Activity, and uncheck Include Visual Search History.
What Google says the data is for, and what it does not say
Google says saved media helps it deliver safer and more accurate results and build better services. Its help pages do not say how many accounts have the setting on, how much media has been used, or how well the filtering performs, so those questions remain open.
Training data is a wider industry tension, as our look at AI copyright lawsuits and the end of free data shows. Here the data is user-generated and consent runs through an account setting.
The two lenses
Lens one: Rational data strategy in a zero-sum AI race. From this angle, Google’s move is simply pragmatic. AI labs want high-quality multimodal training data, and Google says it uses saved media to improve the models behind Lens, AI Mode, Translate, Search Live and voice search.
Text scraped from the web is increasingly exhausted as a resource, so image and voice inputs generated through everyday searches are a rich and renewable kind of data. This is our reading, not a Google statement.
Under this reading, an opt-out design is a familiar way to collect data, and Google’s pages confirm users can turn the setting off and delete saved media.
Lens two: A quiet normalization of surveillance-grade data collection. The counter-view is less comfortable.
Voice and image data are categorically more intimate than search text — a voice recording carries emotional tone, background context, and biometric characteristics; a Lens photo could capture a person’s home, a receipt, a medical device, or a child’s face.
Carrying the setting over as “on” for accounts that already had Web & App Activity on, rather than asking for fresh consent, puts the burden of privacy protection on individuals who may not know the setting exists. That is a different posture from opt-in consent.
Why it matters
Signed-in users of Lens, voice search, Search Live and Translate speaking practice are the ones affected. Whether media is being saved for your account is a setting you can check at My Google Activity.
Watch for whether Google states the “Save media” default for migrated accounts, whether the gradual rollout finishes and its help pages stop referring to Web & App Activity, and whether any regulator comments on the opt-out design.
FAQ
Q. Can I stop Google from using my Lens and voice search data for AI training?
A. Yes. Go to My Google Activity, select Search Services History, and uncheck “Save media” or turn the history off. Google says future media will then not be used to train its generative AI models, unless you give feedback. Earlier saved media must be deleted separately.
Q. Does turning off Save media delete what Google already saved?
A. No. Google says previously saved media is not deleted and may still be used unless you delete it. Media already selected for training is disconnected from your account and kept up to 4 years, even if you delete the original activity.
Q. Does this apply to school accounts?
A. Google says that if your account comes from an educational institution, it does not use your Search Services History data, including saved media, to train generative AI models. Your choices may vary.
What would change our view
Our view would change if Google states that the “Save media” box starts unchecked for migrated accounts, or if it discloses how many accounts have it on. A low share would weaken the quiet-normalization reading.
This is not legal advice; regulators have not ruled on this setting in the sources we reviewed.
Sources
- Get started with Search Services History & Personalized Recommendations — Google Search Help, accessed 2 October 2026
- Find & manage Search Services History — Google Search Help, accessed 2 October 2026
- Manage your saved media in Search Services History — Google Search Help, accessed 2 October 2026
- Manage Personalized Recommendations in Search services — Google Search Help, accessed 2 October 2026
- Manage your Visual Search History in your settings — Google Search Help, accessed 2 October 2026
- Find & control your Web & App Activity — Google Search Help, accessed 2 October 2026
- Google turned on AI training for your photos and voice searches without asking — TechTimes, 8 July 2026
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