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In a digital privacy bombshell, Google has been sued over its Gemini AI, accused of secretly tracking millions of users’ private emails, chats, and video calls without their knowledge or consent. The proposed class action lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a California federal court, claims the tech giant quietly activated its AI assistant Gemini by default last month—turning users into unwitting participants in an expansive data surveillance experiment.

The case, led by Illinois resident Thomas Thele, focuses on an alleged October 10 policy shift that removed users’ choice to manually enable the AI. According to the lawsuit, Gemini was automatically switched on across Google’s most widely used communication tools—Gmail, Chat, and Meet—effectively granting the AI access to users’ private messages and attachments unless they took deliberate action to opt out.

“Despite users never giving Google informed consent to track and store their private communications, Google does just that,” Thele alleged, claiming the company’s conduct was both deceptive and outrageous.

Gemini’s Hidden Activation Sparks Privacy Alarm

Before the alleged change, users had to go into their account settings and choose whether to turn on Gemini’s “smart” assistance features. But now, according to the complaint, Google has reversed the rules—flipping the privacy switch on for everyone by default.

The lawsuit contends that Gemini “tracks and indefinitely stores” the content of emails, chats, and video conversations, including attachments, messages, and personal exchanges—all without express permission. Thele’s filing paints this as an unprecedented violation of consumer trust and privacy expectations.

“The ramifications of unauthorized access to voluminous private communications can be severe,” the complaint warns, noting the potential exposure of not just adult users’ data but also that of minors under their guardianship.

Lawsuit Cites California Privacy and Federal Data Laws

The complaint accuses Google of breaking multiple state and federal laws, including:

• California’s constitutional right to privacy

• California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) — banning the secret recording or interception of private conversations

• California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act — prohibiting unauthorized electronic data access

• Federal Stored Communications Act — barring unauthorized access to stored digital communications

Additionally, Thele asserts that Google committed “intrusion upon seclusion”, a legal term referring to the invasive prying into private matters. The suit argues that such behavior would be considered “highly offensive to a reasonable person,” especially given that Google users rely on multiple safeguards—passwords, encryption, and two-factor authentication—to keep their communications confidential.

Millions of Users Potentially Affected

The proposed class action seeks certification on behalf of “millions” of Google account holders across the United States. Plaintiffs are asking for a broad injunction to prevent Google from continuing to collect, use, or store private communications without consent, alongside monetary damages for the alleged privacy violations.

If certified, the case could become one of the most consequential digital privacy lawsuits in years—potentially forcing the world’s largest tech company to rethink how it integrates artificial intelligence into users’ daily interactions.

Google Silent Amid Mounting Legal Fire

As of Wednesday, Google has not commented on the lawsuit. The plaintiffs are represented by Tina Wolfson, Robert Ahdoot, Theodore W. Maya, Alyssa D. Brown, and Bradley K. King of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC. Counsel for Google has not yet been disclosed.

The complaint echoes a growing unease over how Big Tech deploys AI—painting Gemini not as a helpful assistant, but as a silent observer lurking behind every sent message and scheduled meeting. Whether this digital giant can defend its secret AI switch in court remains to be seen—but the stakes, like the data it’s accused of collecting, are enormous.