Google changed a quiet but important default on October 26, 2026. If you create a new paid-tier Gemini API project and call generateContent, streamGenerateContent, or batchGenerateContent, those requests are now stored by default (store=true). That matches how the Interactions API already behaved. Older projects keep whatever setting they already had.

This is a privacy and compliance change more than a feature launch. If you ship products on the Gemini API, you should know whether your project is logging prompts — and how to turn that off when you do not want it.

Coffee summary

  • FACT: As of Oct 26, 2026, new paid projects store Generate Content API requests by default (store=true). Existing projects keep their prior setting.
  • FACT: You can opt out per request with store=false, or turn off Generate Content API logging in the Logs and Datasets dashboard Settings panel.
  • FACT: Logs are paid-tier only, expire after a default 55-day retention window (configurable to 7, 14, 28, or 55 days), and can be saved into datasets that do not expire.
  • FACT: Setting store on Generate Content requests needs recent SDKs (google-genai ≥ 2.33.0 Python, @google/genai ≥ 2.31.0 JS, and the documented Java/Go minimums).
  • OPINION: Treat "new project" as a checklist item the same way you treat API keys and spend caps — verify storage before you send production traffic.

What changed

Google's changelog says new projects using the Generate Content API on the paid tier now store requests by default, matching the Interactions API. The Logs and datasets docs add the important nuance: projects created before October 26, 2026 keep their previous Generate Content storage setting, which is off (store=false) unless you already enabled logging in AI Studio.

CLAIM (Google): logging helps you observe, debug, and optionally share usage feedback to improve Gemini. That is Google's stated purpose — not a reason to leave logging on for sensitive workloads without a review.

How to check your project

  1. Open the Logs page in Google AI Studio and select the project.
  2. Open the Settings panel on the Logs and Datasets dashboard.
  3. Confirm whether Generate Content API logging and Interactions API logging are independently enabled.
  4. Note: a project needs at least one active API key for logs to display. If every key was deleted, logs stay hidden until a key exists again.

If you created the project on or after Oct 26, 2026 on the paid tier, assume Generate Content storage is on until you verify otherwise.

How to turn it off

Option A — project default (recommended for most apps)

In AI Studio → Logs dashboard → Settings, disable Generate Content API logging for that project. You can leave Interactions API logging on or off separately.

Option B — per request

Set store=false on individual calls. Example (Python):

from google import genai

client = genai.Client()
response = client.models.generate_content(
    model="gemini-3.8-flash",
    contents="Explain quantum entanglement in simple terms.",
    config={"store": False},
)

The request-level store property overrides the project default.

Retention, datasets, and limits

  • Default retention is 55 days, then logs are marked for deletion unless saved to a dataset.
  • You can shorten retention to 7, 14, or 28 days.
  • Datasets let you export curated logs as CSV, JSONL, or Google Sheets — useful for evals, not a substitute for a data-processing agreement review.
  • Logging is not supported for Imagen/Veo, embeddings, Robotics, inputs with videos/GIFs/PDFs, or Public Preview Agents.

What to do next

  • Privacy / security owners: confirm which projects are new vs pre-Oct-26, document the setting, and decide whether 55-day retention is acceptable.
  • App teams: pin SDK versions that support store, and set store=false in production templates if your policy forbids vendor-side prompt storage.
  • Everyone else: if you only use AI Studio chat, this change is about API projects — still worth knowing if you later add a key to an app.

AIImpish Take

This is the kind of default that is easy to miss and hard to unwind after the fact. Google documented it clearly; the work is on your side to verify each paid project and decide whether stored prompts are an asset for debugging or a liability for your users.

*Sources: Gemini API changelog, Oct 26, 2026; Logs and datasets.*