Google Gemini to run in-app tasks even with App Activity off: What it means

Business Standard

a day ago

In a move that could ease privacy concerns while enhancing usability, Google will soon allow its Gemini AI assistant to work with key system apps on Android — even if users have Gemini Apps Activity turned off. This change rolls out starting July 7, 2025, according to an email shared with users and reported by Android Police.
What's changing and why does it matter?
Until now, using Gemini to send messages, control calls, or manage device settings required keeping the Gemini Apps Activity setting enabled — which meant Google could store and analyse your chat history to improve its AI. With this update, users will be able to access Gemini's integrations with apps like Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and system Utilities without opting into long-term activity tracking.
So if you have disabled Gemini Apps Activity to avoid saving your chat history to your Google account, you will still be able to send a WhatsApp message, call a contact, or set a timer using Gemini — something that was not possible before.
Android Police reports that the change allows Gemini to interact with these system features 'whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.' While the setting used to be a gatekeeper for these app-based actions, Google is now decoupling basic app access from full AI data collection.
What about privacy?
As per the report, even with this improvement, Google notes that Gemini interactions will still be temporarily stored for up to 72 hours — regardless of your activity setting — for 'security, safety, and feedback' purposes.
The Gemini Apps Activity toggle primarily affects whether conversations are saved to your Google account and used to personalize and train AI models. Disabling it means your chats will not show up in your activity history and will not be used to improve Gemini — but they may still be briefly stored for backend processing.
According to a statement Google gave to Android Authority, users will be able to disable these app connections entirely if they prefer. The company emphasized this is a 'good' move for users, enabling more device control without forcing them to contribute data to AI training.
This update also arrives as Gemini is set to replace Google Assistant on Android phones later this year. With that shift, enabling Gemini to handle core assistant tasks — even when tracking is off — makes it better aligned with what users expect from a virtual assistant.