Hello 
I’m excited to try out Gemini CLI, but I have some questions regarding privacy!
I referred to this page: gemini-cli/docs/tos-privacy.md at main · google-gemini/gemini-cli · GitHub
- Is the response to FAQ 1 “Is my code, including prompts and answers, used to train Google’s models?” the default setting for each authentication method?
- Regarding the FAQ 2 “What are “Usage Statistics” and what does the opt-out control?”, if users opt-out, can they prevent collection of any usage statistics, prompt, answer, response regardless of their authentication method? In other words, if the auth method (a) Google individual login user opted-out, does it prevent collection of every possible usage statistics and records?
- Adding on to question 2: FAQ 1 mentions prompts, answers, and related codes, but FAQ 2 only mentions prompts and answers as the target of opt-out. Are related codes collected regardless of the opt-out?
- (Not about data collection, but about data access) Does Gemini CLI have access to every file in my home directory? How can I restrict its access?
Thank you so much for your response in advace
Hello,
Welcome to the Forum,
There are different authentication methods to use Gemini CLI. The links to privacy policy of each authentication method is available on this page itself. I would recommend going through the privacy policy and related documents for more clarity.
Hello! 
Thank you so much for your response and the warm welcome.
I did take a close look at the privacy documents linked on the page—including the one at gemini-cli/docs/tos-privacy.md —and that’s actually what prompted my questions. I completely understand that different authentication methods may follow different privacy policies, but I was hoping to clarify some parts that weren’t fully clear even after reading the documents.
To restate more precisely, please refer to the note I made here:
| Authentication Method |
 Opt-In (FAQ 1) |
 Opt-Out (FAQ 2) |
Code Collected if Opt-Out? |
| Google Account – Individual (Gemini for Individuals) |
Prompts, Answers, Code collected |
If opted out, prompts/answers not collected, telemetry off |
 Not mentioned clearly |
| Google Account – Workspace / Enterprise |
No collection |
Opt-out only affects telemetry (prompts/answers never collected) |
Not collected |
| Gemini API Key – Unpaid |
Prompts, Answers, Code collected |
If opted out, prompts/answers not collected, telemetry off |
Not mentioned clearly |
| Gemini API Key – Paid |
No collection |
If opted-out, telemetry off.  prompts logged briefly only for abuse detection |
Not collected |
| Vertex AI GenAI API |
No collection |
Opt-out only affects telemetry (prompts/answers never collected) |
Not collected |
1. Is FAQ1 describing the setting when the user opts in for Usage Statistics for each authentication method? I’m a bit confused, as FAQ 1 makes it sound like the data collection rules are fixed and non-configurable, whereas FAQ 2 discusses an opt-out option.
2. Just to make sure, if a user opts out, is it guaranteed that no data—usage statistics, prompts, answers, or code—is collected or transmitted, regardless of authentication method?
3. I also noticed that FAQ 2 only mentions prompts and answers, while FAQ 1 mentions prompts, answers, and code.
So I wanted to confirm:
Even if I opt out, is “code” still collected as part of system usage?
4. (This wasn’t in my original question) for Gemini API Key - Paid, it states that “This setting [opt-out] only controls the collection of anonymous telemetry. Google logs prompts and responses for a limited period of time, solely for the purpose of detecting violations of the Prohibited Use Policy and any required legal or regulatory disclosures.” Is the log collected regardless of opt-in/out, or is it only collected when opt-in? If it’s collected regardless of opt-in / opt-out, does it only apply to this authentication method or every method?
Thank you for reading such a long follow-up question. A clarification will be highly appreciated. Thank you for all your hard work!
Hello,
For detailed information regarding Gemini-CLI, you can raise you concern at Gemini CLI github.