Is Gemini training on your chats? Turn off Keep Activity and export

Updated November 4, 2026 · 5-minute read

Google says it uses your Gemini chats to train its AI models while the Keep Activity setting is on, and its help pages describe no exception for paid personal plans, so turning Keep Activity off or using a temporary chat is how you keep new chats out of training.

Disclosure: ConvoShelf is our product. Everything about Gemini here comes from Google's Gemini Apps Privacy Hub and three Gemini Help pages listed under Sources, which we read on November 4, 2026. Google dated the privacy notice October 13, 2026.

What Google does with your Gemini chats

Keep Activity is on by default if you're 18 or older. While it's on, Google saves your chats and uploads in your Gemini Apps activity and says it uses that activity to provide, develop and improve its services, including training generative AI models. Human reviewers, including people working for Google's service providers, read some of it.

Reviewed chats outlive your deletes. Google says chats a reviewer looked at are disconnected from your account, kept for up to 3 years, and not deleted when you delete your activity.
Auto-delete defaults to 18 months. You can change it to 3 or 36 months, or turn auto-delete off.
Not for ads. Google says it doesn't use your Gemini chats to show you ads.

Does a paid plan change anything?

Not according to Google's notice. The Gemini Apps Privacy Hub covers signed-in personal Google Accounts, and it lists "subscription information" for people who pay for a Google AI plan as one of the things Google collects. It doesn't describe a separate training rule for paying subscribers. The training controls are the same: Keep Activity and temporary chats.

Work and school accounts are a different case. Google says they may be subject to different data handling terms, and on those accounts the admin controls the activity settings.

Turn off Keep Activity

Export first if you want a copy (see below), because one of the options deletes your history.

On a computer, go to gemini.google.com.
Open Settings & help > Activity.
Near the top, click On, then choose Turn off, or Turn off and delete activity to also delete what's saved.

In the Gemini mobile app, the same setting is under Menu > your profile picture > Gemini Apps Activity.

What changes with it off, per Google: future chats don't appear in your activity and aren't used to train AI models unless you send feedback. Google still keeps them for 72 hours so Gemini can respond, process any feedback and protect users. Your Gems are still saved, but chats with Gems aren't, and some connected apps, such as Google Workspace apps, stop working.

Use a temporary chat for one conversation

If you want Keep Activity on for most chats, a temporary chat keeps one conversation out of training. On gemini.google.com, click Temporary chat next to New chat. Google says a temporary chat:

isn't used to train its AI models and is kept for up to 72 hours;
doesn't show in your activity or recent chats, and you can't get back to it once you leave;
can't use Gems or connected apps, and you can't give feedback in it.

Temporary chats need a personal account. Google says they aren't available on work or school accounts, in Gemini in Chrome or in Gemini in Messages.

What these settings don't stop

Even with Keep Activity off, or in a temporary chat, Google says it uses your chats to respond to you and to keep Gemini safe, and human reviewers can be involved in that. If you send feedback, Google says it collects context that can include the last 24 hours of your chats, has trained teams review it, and keeps reviewed feedback for up to 3 years. Google also says these settings don't control processing to create anonymized data.

Export your Gemini history, then delete it

Download a copy with Google Takeout before you delete anything:

Go to takeout.google.com and click Deselect all.
Check My Activity, click All activity data included, click Deselect all, check Gemini Apps, then OK. To include your Gems, also check Gemini.
Click Next step, choose email, Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box, then Create export.

Google says an export can take hours or days, though most arrive the same day, and an emailed link stays active for 7 days. Downloading doesn't delete anything.

To delete, go back to Settings & help > Activity on gemini.google.com, or to myactivity.google.com/product/gemini. You can delete one item, one day, the last hour or day, a custom range, or all time. Deleting a shared chat doesn't delete its public link, so remove shared links separately. For the same cleanup on ChatGPT, see whether deleting a ChatGPT chat deletes its memories.

Where ConvoShelf fits

ConvoShelf doesn't change any Gemini setting and can't stop Google from using your chats. It's a Chrome extension that keeps its own copy of chats you open, in your browser on this computer. We checked the code of version 1.0.3, the version the Chrome Web Store lists, on November 4, 2026.

When you open a saved Gemini chat at gemini.google.com in desktop Chrome, ConvoShelf saves its text in your browser's local storage, next to your ChatGPT, Claude and Grok chats, so you can search and reread it later.
That copy has no account and no ConvoShelf server behind it. Deleting your Gemini activity doesn't remove it. Version 1.0.3 has no button to remove one saved chat; its settings page has Delete all ConvoShelf data.
The free plan exports the open chat as Markdown or PDF. Pro, $4.99 once, adds JSON export and exports of a folder or every saved chat.
It only has chats you've opened, it doesn't work in the Gemini phone app, and it doesn't replace Google Takeout.

To keep chats from several AIs in one place, see how to search all your ChatGPT and Claude chats in one place and how to organize ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok chats into folders.

Add ConvoShelf to Chrome Free · no account

FAQ

Does Google use my Gemini chats to train AI?

While Keep Activity is on, Google says it uses your Gemini activity to develop and improve its services, including training generative AI models, and human reviewers read some of it. With Keep Activity off, Google says future chats aren't used to train AI models unless you send feedback.

Does paying for Google AI Pro or Ultra stop Gemini training on my chats?

Google's Gemini Apps Privacy Hub doesn't describe a paid-plan exception for personal accounts. It covers signed-in personal Google Accounts and lists subscription details for people with a paid Google AI plan. Work and school accounts may have different data handling terms.

Are Gemini temporary chats used for training?

No. Google says temporary chats aren't used to train its AI models. They're kept for up to 72 hours, don't show in your activity or recent chats, and you lose access to one once you leave it.

Does deleting my Gemini activity delete everything?

No. Google says chats that human reviewers already looked at are disconnected from your account, kept for up to 3 years, and not deleted when you delete your Gemini Apps activity.

How do I download my Gemini chat history?

Use Google Takeout. Under My Activity, open All activity data included, deselect everything, select Gemini Apps, then create the export. Google says most exports arrive the same day, and downloading doesn't delete anything.