Recently, a quiet adjustment in Google's privacy policy has sparked widespread attention. Through the latest system update, Google has defaultly included user-uploaded images, files, audio, and video media data in the training scope of its AI models. For the general public, this means that while enjoying convenient services such as search, translation, and maps, their personal media content may be quietly becoming "fuel" for improving AI capabilities.

According to the information, this change in privacy settings involves multiple core Google services, including search, shopping, maps, flight searches, hotel bookings, translations, and news sections. Google stated that storing these media contents aims to improve the accuracy, security, and product experience of AI models, and sometimes even cooperate with manual reviews to ensure user and public safety. It is worth noting that even if users previously adjusted the retention period for "web and app activity records," this logic no longer automatically covers the newly added "search service history" setting, as Google has separated the two into independent options.

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Although Google provides a "default on" setting for this feature, it also retains user autonomy. If you wish to avoid this data collection, you can simply manually configure it to opt out. Users need only go to Google's privacy settings page, find the "Search Service History" and "Personalized Recommendations" configuration area, and uncheck the "Save Media" option. In addition, Google allows users to customize the automatic deletion cycle for data, including 3 months, 18 months, or 36 months, to achieve more granular privacy control.

This incident once again reflects the common strategies of tech giants in the competition of large AI models - that is, not only relying on web scraping but also tending to build competitive barriers through user-generated data. For ordinary users, this is undoubtedly an important reminder: while using intelligent digital tools, actively reviewing and managing privacy settings within their accounts has become a necessary course for maintaining digital rights. It is recommended that all Google users regularly check their account privacy options to ensure that their personal digital assets remain within a controllable range while enjoying the convenience of technology.