The AI already in your phone, email and office apps: what it reads, and how to turn it up or down
What the AI built into iPhone, Mac, Gmail, Android, Word and Outlook, Samsung phones, WhatsApp and LinkedIn reads, where it runs, and the setting that turns each one down, as the vendors describe it in October 2026.
- What this is
- A guide to the AI features that now come built into phones, Gmail, Word, WhatsApp and LinkedIn, and what each can see.
- Why it matters
- You get to decide, app by app and device by device, what AI may read, rather than leaving whatever the app chose.
- The short version
- Much of this AI sends what you ask to the vendor's servers. Apple and Samsung run some of it on the device and say what leaves it.
- Each app has its own switch: Use ChatGPT on iPhone or Mac, Gmail smart features, Enable Copilot, Process data only on device.
- Turn on Advanced Chat Privacy for sensitive WhatsApp chats, and check the LinkedIn setting that controls AI training on your data.
On this page
Short answer
Your phone, email and office apps now come with AI switched on or one tap away. Most of it reads what is already in the app (your email, your document, your screen) and sends it to the vendor's servers. Apple and Samsung run some of it on the device. Each one has its own setting, and it is usually in that app's settings rather than in a central AI menu. The table below gives each vendor's own description and setting path as we read them on 2026-10-10.
Not this page: training, history and memory in chat apps such as ChatGPT, Claude and the Gemini app are in Privacy settings pass: 15 minutes, once a quarter. What an assistant remembers about you is in AI memory: what it keeps, and a ten-minute audit.
What each one reads, and where to turn it down
Menus move. When yours looks different, the vendor's page wins.
| App | What it reads and where it runs (October 2026) | Turn it down |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Intelligence (iPhone, iPad, Mac) | Apple says many of its AI models (the programs behind the features) "run entirely on device". Larger requests may go to Apple's Private Cloud Compute, where data is "processed only to fulfill your request" and "is not stored or made accessible to Apple". It arrives automatically when you update to the 27.0 releases. | To see what went to the cloud: Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Intelligence & PCC Report (Mac: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Intelligence & PCC Report). To turn Apple Intelligence off, search Apple Support for "Apple Intelligence & Siri" and follow Apple's steps for your device. |
| ChatGPT inside Apple Intelligence | "This extension is off by default." When on, your request and any attachments go to OpenAI, and your IP address (your connection's internet address) is obscured. Without a ChatGPT account, OpenAI must not store them unless the law requires it. Signed in, OpenAI "may log your request, attachments, and session history" and may use them to train or improve its models. | Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT, turn off Use ChatGPT (Mac: System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT). Leave Confirm ChatGPT Requests on so Siri asks first. |
| Gmail and Google Workspace (personal accounts) | Two settings. "Smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet" covers filtering, Smart Compose, Smart Reply and summary cards. "Smart features in Google Workspace" covers Gemini summaries and drafts, and Gmail events in Calendar. Google says "your data may be used to improve these features", but for Google AI plan users, Gemini in Workspace "doesn't use your content to train or improve Gemini or other generative AI models". Off by default in the EEA, Japan, Switzerland and the UK. On 16 October 2026 Google added opt-in features that connect Workspace apps to other Google services; if you turn them on, that Workspace data is used to personalise other Google experiences and, "depending on a user's settings", can be used to train generative AI models. | Gmail on a computer: Settings > See all settings > General > Smart features, then the box. Then Settings > See all settings > General > Google Workspace smart features > Manage Workspace smart feature settings, then Save. Turning a setting off removes every feature it covers. |
| Gemini on Android | The Gemini app collects what you say, "screens you ask about", information from your Connected Apps, contacts and screen content, and your general area. Precise location only with your permission. | Settings > Apps > Default apps > Digital assistant app > Default digital assistant app, then another app or None. In the Gemini app: Menu > profile picture > Settings > Gemini on lock screen, turn off Use Gemini without unlocking. Disconnect apps in Connected Apps. Deleting the app does not change the default assistant. |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word, Outlook and other apps (Personal, Family) | Copilot uses "the content in the file that you're working in" and files you ask it to look at. "Prompts, responses, and your file contents ... aren't used to train foundation models." It works only while Microsoft's connected experiences are on, and the page does not describe an on-device mode. | Word or Excel on Windows: File > Options > Copilot, clear Enable Copilot, restart. On Mac: app menu > Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools > Copilot. This is per app, per device. In Outlook: Settings > Copilot (Mac and phones: Quick Settings > Copilot), turn off Turn on Copilot. To turn it off in all the apps at once: File > Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings, clear Turn on experiences that analyze your content (this also turns off other features). |
| Samsung Galaxy AI | Samsung says "Many of our Galaxy AI features use on-device data processing", some need its servers, and personal data "is never stored long-term or used for AI training". | Settings > Galaxy AI, turn on Process data only on device. Some features stop working. |
| Meta AI in WhatsApp | Personal messages and calls stay end-to-end encrypted. Features that use them, such as message summaries, use Private Processing "without Meta or WhatsApp being able to read them", and summaries are off by default. Meta AI chats in WhatsApp are used to personalise content and ads across Meta's apps only if your WhatsApp account is added to Accounts Center; for Meta's wider use of AI chats, see Privacy settings pass. | Tap a chat's name > Advanced Chat Privacy. This blocks others in the chat from "exporting chats, auto-downloading media to their phone, and using messages for AI features". |
| In the EU and EEA, LinkedIn began training AI on members' personal data in early November 2025, with less data than first planned and with under-18s kept out. The UK regulator says LinkedIn resumed its UK plans in 2025. | Search LinkedIn Help for "generative AI improvement" and follow LinkedIn's steps to that setting. EU members can also use LinkedIn's Data Processing Objection Form. |
For what Copilot in Microsoft 365 costs, and whether to pay, see Do I need to pay for AI, and for which plan?.
What to do in 15 minutes
This is our suggestion. Skip the rows for apps you do not have.
| # | Step | Time | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | List which of the apps above you use, on which devices | 1 min | Phone, computer and tablet are all on the list. |
| 2 | iPhone or Mac: decide on Use ChatGPT, and keep Confirm ChatGPT Requests on | 2 min | You can say whether ChatGPT is on, and whether you are signed in to it. |
| 3 | Gmail: open both smart feature settings and choose on purpose | 3 min | Both are set the way you chose, and you pressed Save. |
| 4 | Android: check the default assistant, the lock screen setting and Connected Apps | 2 min | Every connected app has a reason you can state. |
| 5 | Word, Excel and Outlook: decide on Copilot in each app on each device | 3 min | The Enable Copilot box (Outlook: Turn on Copilot) matches your choice in every app you use. |
| 6 | Samsung: decide on Process data only on device | 1 min | You know which features you gave up. |
| 7 | WhatsApp: turn on Advanced Chat Privacy for chats about health, money or work | 2 min | The setting shows on each sensitive chat. |
| 8 | LinkedIn: search LinkedIn Help for "generative AI improvement", open the setting and choose | 1 min | You can say whether it is on or off. |
How to tell it worked
- For each app you use, you can say whether its AI is on or off, and on which devices.
- If you use ChatGPT inside Apple Intelligence, you know whether you are signed in, since that decides whether OpenAI may log your requests.
- It has not worked if you changed a setting on one device and assumed it covers the others. Repeat the step on each device.
For anything you paste into these features yourself, the same rules apply as in any chat: see What not to paste. For AI that can act in your email or files, see Letting an agent near your email, browser and files.
Sources
- Apple. Apple Intelligence & Privacy. Vendor. Link
- Apple. ChatGPT Extension & Privacy. Vendor. Link
- Apple Support. How to get the next generation of Apple Intelligence, September 2026. Vendor. Link
- Google. Learn about smart features and controls for Google Workspace and other Google products. Vendor. Link
- Google. Learn how Gemini in Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Docs, Drive, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Vids & Pics protects your data. Vendor. Link
- Google. Manage or delete the Gemini app on your Android device. Vendor. Link
- Google. Gemini Apps Privacy Hub. Vendor. Link
- Microsoft. Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps for home: your data and privacy. Vendor. Link
- Microsoft. Turn off Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps. Vendor. Link
- Samsung. One UI 7 on Galaxy phones and tablets, and The Knox Journals, May 2024. Vendor. Link · Link
- Samsung. Your Privacy, Secured: How Galaxy AI Empowers You to Take Control of Your Data, September 2025. Vendor. Link
- WhatsApp. Introducing Advanced Chat Privacy, April 2025. Vendor. Link
- WhatsApp. Meta AI on WhatsApp, and Private Message Summaries, June 2025. Vendor. Link · Link
- Meta. Improving your recommendations with AI chats, October 2025. Vendor. Link
- Data Protection Commission (Ireland). DPC statement on LinkedIn AI training, 7 November 2025. Regulator. Link
- Information Commissioner's Office (UK). Our statement on changes to LinkedIn AI data policy, updated 23 September 2025. Regulator. Link
- Google. Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Sheets and more for Google One subscribers, update note of 16 October 2026. Vendor, read 2026-10-19. Link
Changes
- v1.010 Oct 2026first version
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes (our estimate)
- Sources
- 14
- Updated
- 10 Oct 2026
- Last checked
- 11 Oct 2026