Google said it will place images, audio, and video created during search interactions under a new Search Services History setting, and it explicitly states that this material may be used to provide, develop, and improve its services, including AI models. The scope includes images uploaded through Google Lens, recordings from Search Live, regular voice search audio, and spoken input used in Google Translate.
Media records are being split from the old activity control
In an email sent to users on June 10, Google said the new setting, along with another new control called Personalized Recommendations, will be separated from the existing Web & App Activity option over the coming months. Before this change, media generated through search interactions sat inside a broader switch, without a dedicated control for this category. After the split, users will be able to manage these data types more directly.
Google also said the coverage goes beyond Google Search. The framework applies across Maps, Shopping, Hotels, Flights, Translate, News, and other search-related services. In practice, that means voice and visual interactions across Google’s app ecosystem can fall within the collection range described in the new setting.
Four multimodal inputs are named directly
The four categories listed by Google are all multimodal inputs. The company has collected related records before, but this is the first time it has pulled “media” out as a standalone category and tied that category directly to AI model improvement in its explanation. Google’s description also says that if Personalized Recommendations is turned on, the same data may be used for personalized suggestions and advertising.
That creates a single pool of image and voice records with more than one stated use. A spoken request or a visual search could feed service improvement tied to AI systems, while also informing recommendation or ad targeting workflows. Google’s notice makes the use case clearer, but it does not add detailed limits around model training in the material cited here.
How users can turn it off
Users who do not want Google to store these media interactions can go to My Google Activity, open Search Services History, and disable the Save Media option. That switch controls whether Google keeps images, recordings, and videos generated through these interactions.
Google said the setting will roll out over the next few months, and it is not yet visible for every account. The company also said users will be notified when the new setting becomes available, while existing preferences will be retained.