Important: We’re currently updating settings for Google Search services, which include Search, Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate, and News. These are rolling out gradually over the next few months. If the settings in this article do not match what you see, history and personalized recommendations for Search services are still controlled by Web & App Activity.
When you search images on eligible Google services, like Google Lens in the Google App, your images are saved to your Search Services History when you’re signed in and your Save Media subsetting is on. Learn more about saved media in Search Services History.
If you are saving images and have chosen to donate your image search history, human reviewers (including trained service providers) may analyze donated images to help Google build and improve our products, services, and machine learning technologies (including generative AI models). Only images saved to your history while donation is enabled are part of this program. Images that are selected for human review are disconnected from your Google Account and retained for up to 4 years.
Donated images can come from the following eligible Google services when you’re signed in to your Google Account:
- Google Lens on the Google App on Android, iPhone, and iPad
- Quick Search Box and All Apps Tray on Android
- Lens App
- Circle to Search on Android
Images you use to search may not be saved from the above Google services for certain app and device versions.
Tip: Image search history donation is off by default.
Turn image search history donation off
Image search history donation is managed by a device-specific setting in the Google app. Google only reviews images that are saved to Search Services History from eligible Google services on devices opted-in to donation. If 2 devices are signed into the same account, and only one has opted-in to donation, only images you search for on that device will be donated.
You can turn off your image search history donation setting at any time.
- On your iPhone or iPad, go to the Google app.
- In the search bar, tap Google Lens.
- At the top right, tap
.
- In the banner that says “Image search history donation is on,” tap Turn off donation.
When you turn off image search history donation on your device, new images saved to your Search Services History from that device will no longer be eligible for analysis by trained human reviewers. Images that were previously saved when you were enrolled in the image search history donation program can still be analyzed by human reviewers to build and improve Google products and services unless you delete them from your Search Services History. Donated images that have already been reviewed by human reviewers are no longer connected to your account and are kept for up to 4 years, even if you delete the original images from your history.
Learn how to find, delete, or stop saving images in your Search Services History.