Apple now asks before sending AI requests to Google Cloud
What's the story
Apple has introduced a new prompt in iOS 27 as well as last year's iOS 26, seeking user consent before transmitting their data to Google Cloud. The move comes after the tech giant integrated Google's Gemini AI into its own artificial intelligence (AI) system, Apple Intelligence. The integration has significantly improved Apple's AI capabilities but also requires some user data to be shared with Google Cloud for these advanced features.
Consent mechanism
New prompt spotted in iWork's shape generation tool
The new feature was recently spotted while using the shape generation tool in iWork on iOS 26. The prompt reads, "Your text will be sent to Google Cloud to generate shapes. Your data is never used for training." Users can either grant permission once or set it to automatically approve all such requests. This development comes as Apple expands its AI capabilities with Google's technology.
Privacy assurance
Apple assures user privacy remains intact
When Apple Intelligence launched in 2024, it promised to keep user data as secure as possible on users' devices with the help of its Private Cloud Compute (PCC) protections. However, with Google's AI technology powering many of Apple's upcoming features, the company has had to turn to Google Cloud for running these advanced tools. Despite this shift, Apple insists that its core privacy principles remain unchanged and PCC continues to provide the same level of protection as before.
Data security
Apple explains how it is protecting user data
In a blog post, Apple reiterated its commitment to user data protection. The company said that user requests remain stateless, their data is not retained, and Apple devices will only interact with software that has been cryptographically approved by the company. "Together, these capabilities help ensure that even outside of Apple's hardware and data centers, user data will continue to be protected by the full force of PCC's extraordinary security and privacy properties," it added.