Google's Gemini App Keeps User Chats for Up to Three Years

Google's Gemini app has started to replace its Assistant feature on Android phones, and users may not realize it. When a device switches over, it opens the Gemini app instead of Assistant, and one setting is already active: Keep Activity.

If you're 18 or older, Keep Activity is enabled by default in the Gemini app, which means all requests go into your activity record. This includes prompts and transcripts of Gemini Live conversations, as well as your device's approximate location and how you use the product.

Google deletes this record automatically after 18 months, but you can change this period to 3 months or switch off automatic deletion altogether. However, Keep Activity doesn't stop everything: even if it's turned off, Google still holds conversations in your account for 72 hours so it can respond to you and process feedback.

Some conversations also reach review teams, made up of Google staff and trained external service providers. These reviewers see disconnected data from your account before they access it, but the reviewed chats themselves are retained for up to three years. This means clearing your history removes it from your account page, but the reviewed copy stays.

If you used Assistant for calls or messages, old records may be imported into Gemini Apps Activity, although this is limited to 'some regions' and Google doesn't specify which ones.