How to see and delete what Gemini knows about you, and why you should

Gemini’s Memory feature can help add important context to your conversations with the chatbot, but it can be difficult to keep track of what the AI remembers about you. Google has made this much easier to do with the recent launch of the Memory summary, allowing you to check exactly what Gemini knows about you in a single window.

This also makes it easier to get the chatbot to delete or forget certain details. Here’s how to access your Memory summary, as well as how to remove certain information.

Gemini stores data about you, whether you know it or not, and the new Memory summary feature allows you to finally see all of this information on one page. Google uses this data to personalize your chats and provide tailored insights. For example, if the AI remembers that you’re vegetarian, it will only suggest recipes without meat when you ask it for ideas.

What it remembers isn’t always consistent though, which is why Memory summary is particularly helpful for users. The feature allows you to generate a summary of all the details that Gemini has stored about you, including where you live, your interests, your health, and your preferences. Gemini doesn’t only pull data from your chats, but also your connected apps, so this helps you keep an eye on exactly what the chatbot recalls.

Technically, you can ask Gemini what it remembers about you even if you don’t have the Memory summary feature yet. But this method is inconsistent and doesn’t always reveal the extent of what the chatbot has remembered. Memory summary gives you more granular control over the details that Gemini stores, making it easier to manage what the chatbot knows. This is particularly useful if it has pulled sensitive data that you would prefer wasn’t used to tailor your Gemini experience.

While Google Support states that Memory summary is only available for US users with a Google AI plan, the feature appears to be available more widely through the Gemini web app. I can access Memory summary when using the Gemini website, even though I’m outside the US and on a free plan.

However, you need to have Memory enabled to use the Memory summary feature. If you have only recently enabled Memory, your initial Memory summary might be sparse. But you will see it grow over the days as you use the chatbot. The AI will also pull information from connected apps to add to your summary.

The feature is also currently only available in English. This means that the summary will appear in English regardless of what language the original chat was in. For example, I asked Gemini to remember that I have two cats in an Afrikaans conversation, but this information appeared in English in my Memory summary.

To access Memory summary on the Gemini web app:

1. Click the Settings cog icon next to your account name.
2. Go to Personal Intelligence > Memory summary.
3. Gemini will generate a summary of the information it has recorded about you.

The flow in the mobile app is similar:

1. Open Gemini and tap the hamburger icon.
2. Then, go to Settings > Personal Intelligence > Memory summary.

Gemini doesn’t have a dedicated delete memory option, but there are ways to remove your saved details from the chatbot. If you want to get rid of all of your data from Gemini, you will need to disable Memory, delete your chats, and turn off Keep activity. You can do this on the Gemini Apps activity account page.

But if you still want to keep personalization intact, the most direct way of changing what Gemini remembers about you is editing your Memory summary.

To edit your Memory summary or remove information:

1. Select the pen icon above the summary and type in the changes you want to make. Then, select Save.
2. Otherwise, use the Add or remove details text box to use a prompt to change the information that’s stored.
3. After using the text box to change details, a pop-up will appear confirming the adjustment.

For example, I removed the information about having two cats by typing, “Remove the fact that I have two cats.” After doing this, Gemini could no longer answer the question about how many cats I had — though it did remember that I had made a change to my Memory summary regarding cats.

So why would you want to delete information from Gemini’s memory? First off, there’s privacy. Sometimes Gemini pulls data from other apps if you have Personal Intelligence and Connected apps enabled. In some cases, you may not want certain data included in your conversation context. My own summary wasn’t only based on chats with the AI, but also email receipts since Gemini is enabled in Gmail. While this was harmless information that related to game purchases, you may not want certain transactions added to the context of your conversations.

Many people also use chatbots to discuss private issues, including relationships, health concerns, and other sensitive topics. You may not want AI storing these details for privacy reasons or because of how they might affect Gemini’s answers. The best way to avoid this data ending up in Gemini’s Memory is to use temporary chats, since Gemini doesn’t retain data from these conversations. You can create a temporary chat by selecting the pen icon in the top right corner of the Gemini web app or at the top of the home screen on the Android app. However, if Gemini already remembers this private information, you can now delete it easily thanks to Memory summary.

There’s also the case when information might be irrelevant. My summary pulled a recent purchase from my email account and inferred that this meant I was interested in crochet. While this is true in my case, it could’ve just as easily been a gift for someone else.

Finally, there’s the fact that life changes. Gemini doesn’t only pull data from the chats you’ve had since you’ve enabled the Memory feature, it pulls information from all of your saved chats. This means that it might think you still engage in hobbies you’ve since abandoned, that you still have the same relationship status, or that you’re still at the same job. Any of these things could have changed over the past few weeks. In this case, you’d want to adjust your Memory summary or delete old facts so that it reflects your current situation.

While I’m a creature of habit, I did notice that my Memory summary pulled up some older details that were no longer relevant. Thanks to the new feature, I can edit them directly rather than needing to update Gemini with a new chat. And if anything sensitive shows up in my Memory summary, I have more control over whether it’s included.