Google Gemini Enhances Privacy With Temporary Chats

The competition in the AI assistant landscape is heating up, with Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT constantly vying for the top spot. Both platforms are rapidly evolving, but feature parity isn't always maintained. Now, it appears Google is looking to bridge one such gap by introducing a temporary chat feature to Gemini, similar to one already available in ChatGPT.

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

This insight comes from an APK teardown of the Google app (version 16.22.44 beta). For those unfamiliar, an APK teardown involves examining the code of an application package to uncover potential upcoming features. While these findings suggest features Google is working on, there's no guarantee they will make it to a public release.

What's New? Gemini's "Temporary Chat" Feature Uncovered

Code within the latest Google app beta indicates active development on a temporary chat functionality for Gemini. Evidence suggests users might soon be able to activate this mode via a new disappearing clock icon. This icon is expected to appear next to the "New Chat" button, particularly in the upcoming tablet-friendly interface for Gemini.

AssembleDebug / Android Authority

While the feature couldn't be fully activated for a hands-on test, its purpose seems clear: to offer users a way to interact with Gemini without the conversation being saved to their chat history.

How Will Gemini's Private Chats Work?

It's presumed that Gemini's temporary chat will function much like ChatGPT's existing "Temporary Chat" feature. When initiated, these chats provide a blank slate, meaning the AI won't have access to your previous conversation history, nor will it retain any memory of the temporary session for future interactions. This is akin to the "incognito mode" found in web browsers, designed for conversations users prefer to keep off the record.

Learning from ChatGPT's Approach to Temporary Conversations

In ChatGPT, starting a Temporary Chat means the conversation won't appear in your history, saving you the manual effort of deleting sensitive or one-off queries. Critically, these chats begin fresh; ChatGPT doesn't draw on past exchanges. However, any custom instructions you've set up will still apply. For safety reasons, OpenAI may retain a copy of these temporary conversations for up to 30 days, but this data is not used to train or improve their AI models.

Google has not yet officially announced or provided details about how its temporary chat feature in Gemini will operate, including specifics on data retention or model training. As more information becomes available, we'll be sure to provide updates.

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