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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Google added Temporary Chats to boost AI privacy.
- Chats vanish after 72 hours, not used for training.
- Feature rolling out in Gemini app and web version.
Google Gemini is getting further integrated into Android, and its web version continues to rise in popularity (dwarfed by ChatGPT at the moment -- market share currently stands at ChatGPT with 60 to 80% and Gemini at 13.5%). Even everyday internet searching has started to shift from the standard means to AI.
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AI is everywhere, and it's not going away. And although it is an incredibly helpful tool (when always checked for accuracy), there are aspects of it that aren't exactly what consumers or users want or need.
One of the best examples of this is privacy. You know, the thing we should all strive for.
When you use AI instead of a traditional search engine, you might think you've leveled up your privacy. Think again. Unless you're using AI locally, when you use ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Sanctrum, Aria, or any other service, your chats are saved and can be used in a similar fashion to standard searching. Even worse, your chats can be used to train LLMs.
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Both cases are an invasion of your privacy, essentially causing everyone who uses these tools to forgo privacy in favor of convenience. Sadly, that's all too common in this digital world.
Fortunately, there are ways around this, and Google has gifted its users a very simple tool for that task. This new feature, called Temporary Chats, is similar to what Incognito Mode is in your web browser. Anything you say in a Temporary Chat is not used to influence another chat.
How a Temporary Chat works
A Temporary Chat does not appear in your history (or even the Gemini app history) and isn't used for personalization or LLM training.
Sounds pretty good, right? Well, it is, but there's a caveat. All Temporary Chats are saved for 72 hours, in case you want to continue the chat. After that 72-hour window, the chat vanishes, never to be seen or read again. Even with that caveat, Temporary Chats should be considered a must for anyone who wants or needs to use AI but places a high priority on privacy.
Of course, if you're looking to get the most privacy out of your AI chats, you should think local and use a tool like Ollama (which can be installed and used on Linux, MacOS, and Windows).
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Google has started rolling this feature out to the Gemini app, but it has yet to reach all phones. Currently, my Pixel 9 Pro does not include the feature, so if I want to use Gemini's Temporary Chat feature, I have to use the web version instead. Hopefully, the feature will be released globally, so everyone can enjoy Temporary Chats on the mobile version of Gemini. In the meantime, there's always the web-based version.
I've opted to start using Temporary Chats for all of my Gemini interactions. Obviously, I'm limited to the web interface (until the feature reaches my device), but I'm okay with that because I almost always default to local AI.
How to use Temporary Chats
Good news! Google has made using Temporary Chats an absolute no-brainer. All you have to do is click or tap the icon to the right of New Chat. When you do this, you'll see a banner above the chat window, clearly indicating you're in Temporary Chat mode. If you don't see the banner, you're not using Temporary Chats.
Temporary Chats on the web version are very obvious.
The feature will be used in the same way on the mobile edition of Gemini (when it finally rolls out to your device).
When you enter your query, you'll notice that the new chat doesn't appear in the sidebar, and if you click to start a new chat, your Temporary Chat goes away.
You'll always know when you're in a Temporary Chat.
Google did retain the options for deep research, canvas, images with Imagen, and Guided Learning in Temporary Chats, so you won't feel as if you're using a stripped-down version of the service.
You don't lose any features (other than saved chats) when you use Temporary Chats.
In a nutshell, Temporary Chats are private, are not used to train LLMs, and do not serve to help create or add to your profile. Anyone who uses Gemini should consider taking advantage of Temporary Chats every time they use Google's AI service.
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Hopefully, the feature will roll out to the mobile version of the app soon, so it's even easier to use.
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