google_privacy_policy_en

GOOGLE PRIVACY POLICY When you use our services, you’re trusting us with your information. We understand this is a big responsibility and work hard to protect your information and put you in control. This Privacy Policy is meant to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, and how you can update, manage, export, and delete your information. Privacy Checkup Looking to change your privacy settings? Take the Privacy Checkup Effective May 26, 2026 Archived versions We build a range of services that help millions of people daily to explore and interact with the world in new ways. Our services include: Google apps, sites, and devices, like Search, YouTube, and Google Home Platforms like the Chrome browser and Android operating system Products that are integrated into third-party apps and sites, like ads, analytics, and embedded Google MapsYou can use our services in a variety of ways to manage your privacy. For example, you can sign up for a Google Account if you want to create and manage content like emails and photos, or see more relevant search results. And you can use many Google services when you’re signed out or without creating an account at all, like searching on Google or watching YouTube videos. You can also choose to browse the web in a private mode, like Chrome Incognito mode, which helps keep your browsing private from other people who use your device. And across our services, you can adjust your privacy settings (like history and personalization controls) to make choices about whether we save some types of data to your Google account and how we use it. To help explain things as clearly as possible, we’ve added examples, explanatory videos, and definitions for key terms. And if you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us. INFORMATION GOOGLE COLLECTS We want you to understand the types of information we collect as you use our services We collect information to provide better services to all our users — from figuring out basic stuff like which language you speak, to more complex things like which ads you’ll find most useful, the people who matter most to you online, or which YouTube videos you might like. The information Google collects, and how that information is used, depends on how you use our services and how you manage your privacy controls. Google also collects and uses data that is not associated with your account. For example, when you’re not signed in to a Google Account, we store the information we collect with unique identifiers tied to the browser, application, or device you’re using. This allows us to do things like maintain your preferences across browsing sessions, such as your preferred language or whether to show you more relevant search results or ads based on your activity. When you’re signed in, we also collect information that we store with your Google Account, which we treat as personal information.Things you create or provide to us When you create a Google Account, you provide us with personal information that includes your name and a password. You can also choose to add a phone number or payment information to your account. Even if you aren’t signed in to a Google Account, you might choose to provide us with information — like an email address to communicate with Google or receive updates about our services. We also collect the content you create, upload, or receive from others when using our services. This includes things like email you write and receive, photos and videos you save, docs and spreadsheets you create, and comments you make on YouTube videos. Information we collect as you use our services Your apps, browsers & devices We collect information about the apps, browsers, and devices you use to access Google services, which helps us provide features like automatic product updates and dimming your screen if your battery runs low. The information we collect includes unique identifiers, browser type and settings, device type and settings, operating system, mobile network information including carrier name and phone number, and application version number. We also collect information about the interaction of your apps, browsers, and devices with our services, including IP address, crash reports, system activity, and the date, time, and referrer URL of your request. We collect this information when a Google service on your device contacts our servers — for example, when you install an app from the Play Store or when a service checks for automatic updates. If you’re using an Android device with Google apps, your device periodically contacts Google servers to provide information about your device and connection to our services. This information includes things like your device type and carrier name, crash reports, which apps you've installed, and, depending on your device settings, other information about how you’re using your Android device.Your activity We collect information about your activity in our services, which we use to do things like recommend a YouTube video you might like. The activity information we collect may include: Terms you search for Videos you watch Views and interactions with content and ads Media (like images, files, audio and video) from your interactions Purchase activity People with whom you communicate or share content Activity on third-party sites and apps that use our services Chrome browsing history you’ve synced with your Google Account If you use our services to make and receive calls or send and receive messages, we may collect call and message log information like your phone number, calling-party number, receiving-party number, forwarding numbers, sender and recipient email address, time and date of calls and messages, duration of calls, routing information, and types and volumes of calls and messages. You can visit your Google Account to find and manage activity information that’s saved in your history. Go to Google Account Your location information We collect location information when you use our services, which helps us offer features like driving directions, search results for things near you, and ads based on your location.Depending on the products you’re using and settings you choose, Google may use different types of location information to help make some services and products you use more helpful. These include: GPS and other sensor data from your device IP address Activity on Google services, such as from your searches or places you label like home or work Information about things near your device, such as Wi-Fi access points, cell towers, and Bluetooth-enabled devices The types of location data we collect and how long we store it depend in part on your device and account settings. For example, you can turn your Android device’s location on or off using the device’s settings app. You can also turn on Timeline if you want to create a private map of where you go with your signed-in devices. Depending on your settings, your searches and other activity from Google services, which may also include location information, are saved as history to your Google Account. For example, activity from services like Search, Maps, and Shopping is saved to Search Services History, and your activity on some other Google sites and apps is saved to Web & App Activity. Learn more about how we use location information. In some circumstances, Google also collects information about you from publicly accessible sources. For example, if your name appears in your local newspaper, Google’s Search engine may index that article and display it to other people if they search for your name. We may also collect information about you from trusted partners, such as directory services who provide us with business information to be displayed on Google’s services, marketing partners who provide us with information about potential customers of our business services, and security partners who provide us with information to protect against abuse. We also receive information from partners to provide advertising and research services on their behalf. We use various technologies to collect and store information, including cookies, pixel tags, local storage, such as browser web storage or application data caches, databases, and server logs.WHY GOOGLE COLLECTS DATA We use data to build better services We use the information we collect from all our services for the following purposes: Provide our services We use your information to deliver our services, like processing the terms you search for in order to return results or helping you share content by suggesting recipients from your contacts. Maintain & improve our services We also use your information to ensure our services are working as intended, such as tracking outages or troubleshooting issues that you report to us. And we use your information to make improvements to our services — for example, understanding which search terms are most frequently misspelled helps us improve spell-check features used across our services. Develop new services We use the information we collect in existing services to help us develop new ones. For example, understanding how people organized their photos in Picasa, Google’s first photos app, helped us design and launch Google Photos. Provide personalized services, including content and ads We use the information we collect to tailor our services for you, including providing customized and personalized experiences and recommendations, including things like content, and search results. For example, Security Checkup provides security tipsadapted to how you use Google products. And, depending on your available settings, Google Play could use information like apps you’ve already installed and videos you’ve watched on YouTube to suggest new apps you might like. Depending on your settings, we may also show you personalized ads based on your interests and activity across Google services. For example, if you search for “mountain bikes,” you may see ads for sports equipment on YouTube. You can control what information we use to show you ads by visiting your ad settings in My Ad Center. We don’t show you personalized ads based on sensitive categories, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or health. We don’t show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Photos. We don’t share information that personally identifies you with advertisers, such as your name or email, unless you ask us to. For example, if you see an ad for a nearby flower shop and select the “tap to call” button, we’ll connect your call and may share your phone number with the flower shop. Go to My Ad Center Measure performance We use data for analytics and measurement to understand how our services are used. For example, we analyze data about your visits to our sites to do things like optimize product design. And we also use data about the ads you interact with, including your related Google Search activity, to help advertisers understand the performance of their ad campaigns. We use a variety of tools to do this, including ad and analytics services. When you visit sites or use apps that use Google’s ad or analytics services, those services may link information about your activity from that site or app with activity from other sites or apps that use our services. Communicate with you We use information we collect, like your email address, to interact with you directly. For example, we may send you a notification if we detect suspicious activity, like an attemptto sign in to your Google Account from an unusual location. Or we may let you know about upcoming changes or improvements to our services. And if you contact Google, we’ll keep a record of your request in order to help solve any issues you might be facing. Protect Google, our users, and the public We use information to help improve the safety and reliability of our services. This includes detecting, preventing, and responding to fraud, abuse, security risks, and technical issues that could harm Google, our users, or the public. We use different technologies to process your information for these purposes. We use automated systems that analyze your content to provide you with things like tailored search results, personalized ads, or other features tailored to how you use our services. And we analyze your content to help us detect abuse such as spam, malware, and illegal content. We also use algorithms to recognize patterns in data. For example, Google Translate helps people communicate across languages by detecting common language patterns in phrases you ask it to translate. We may use the information we collect across our services and across your devices for the purposes described above. For example, depending on your available settings, if you watch videos of guitar players on YouTube, you might see an ad for guitar lessons on a site that uses our ad products. Depending on your account settings, your activity on other sites and apps may be associated with your personal information in order to improve Google’s services and the ads delivered by Google. If other users already have your email address or other information that identifies you, we may show them your publicly visible Google Account information, such as your name and photo. This helps people identify an email coming from you, for example. We’ll ask for your consent before using your information for a purpose that isn’t covered in this Privacy Policy.YOUR PRIVACY CONTROLS You have choices regarding the information we collect and how it's used This section describes key controls for managing your privacy across our services. You can also visit the Privacy Checkup, which provides an opportunity to review and adjust important privacy settings. In addition to these tools, we also offer specific privacy settings in our products — you can learn more in our Product Privacy Guide. Go to Privacy Checkup Managing, reviewing, and updating your information When you’re signed in, you can always review and update information by visiting the services you use. For example, Photos and Drive are both designed to help you manage specific types of content you’ve saved with Google. We also built a place for you to review and control information saved in your Google Account. Your Google Account includes: Privacy controls Personalization and Activity Controls Across many of our services, you can adjust history and personalization controls to make choices about whether we save some types of data in your Google Account and how we use it to personalize your experience. For example, if you have YouTube History turned on, the videos you watch and the things you search for are saved in your account so you can get better recommendations and remember where you left off. Saving activity from services like Search, Maps, and Shopping to your Search Services History lets you do things like resume an AI Mode interaction where you left off or see past searches as Autocomplete suggestions. When PersonalizedRecommendations in Search services is on, these services can provide results, curated feeds, and AI responses that are personalized to you based on info in your Google Account, including Search Services History. And if you have Web & App Activity turned on, your activity from some other Google services are saved in your account so you can get more personalized experiences. Web & App Activity also has a subsetting that lets you control whether some information about your activity on other sites, apps, and devices that use Google services is saved with Web & App Activity in your Google Account and used to improve Google services. Go to My Activity and Personalization Settings Ad settings Manage your preferences about the ads shown to you on Google and on sites and apps that partner with Google to show ads. You can modify your interests, choose whether your personal information is used to make ads more relevant to you, and turn on or off certain advertising services. Go to My Ad Center About you Manage personal info in your Google Account and control who can see it across Google services. Go to About You Shared endorsements Choose whether your name and photo appear next to your activity, like reviews and recommendations, that appear in ads. Go to Shared Endorsements Sites and apps that use Google services Manage information that websites and apps using Google services, like Google Analytics, may share with Google when you visit or interact with their services. Go to How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services