Change record
CA-X-002372
Google Privacy Policy
Entity
Date detected
May 27, 2026
Effective date
May 26, 2026
Severity
Direction
Neutral
Taxonomy
Disclosure requirement change
Changes
+8 sentences added · −7 sentences removed · 23 sentences modified

Impact Summary

Generated by a model from the captured document; not read by a person
Medium Neutral for users
Affected users
All users Signed-out users Users in all regions

Google updated its privacy policy to clarify how it collects and uses data when users are signed out, and to reorganize its privacy controls terminology. The policy now explicitly states that Google collects data not associated with user accounts and stores it with browser or device identifiers. The updated language also expands the list of activity types collected to include 'media (like images, files, audio and video) from your interactions' and reorganizes privacy control descriptions to distinguish between 'Search Services History' and 'Web & App Activity' settings.

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What this means for you

Generated by a model from the captured document; not read by a person

The updated policy explicitly discloses that Google collects data when you are signed out and stores it with unique identifiers tied to your browser, application, or device. The policy also expands the types of activity it collects to include 'media (like images, files, audio and video) from your interactions,' in addition to previously listed categories. The revised language reorganizes privacy controls into 'Search Services History' and 'Web & App Activity,' and clarifies that depending on your settings, activity from services like Search, Maps, and Shopping is saved as history to your Google Account. You can manage these settings through your Google Account privacy controls, including the ability to turn off Web & App Activity or adjust Personalized Recommendations in Search services.

What you can do

→ Review your Google Account privacy settings to understand which history categories are enabled (Search Services History, Web & App Activity, Personalized Recommendations in Search services).

→ Adjust privacy controls to disable collection of specific activity types if you do not want them saved to your Google Account.

→ Visit My Activity to view and manage activity information saved in your history.

Key Clauses Affected

Generated by a model from the captured document; not read by a person
Signed-out data collection disclosure

Policy now explicitly states Google collects and uses data not associated with accounts, stored with device identifiers.

Media collection expansion

Policy expands disclosed activity collection to include 'media (like images, files, audio and video) from your interactions.'

Privacy control reorganization

Policy reorganizes controls into 'Search Services History' and 'Web & App Activity' with clarified examples of which services save to which history.

Full clause-by-clause analysis available with Insight.
ⓘ

This change record describes what was added, removed, or modified in the document. Analysis reflects what the updated agreement states or permits. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Applicability may vary by jurisdiction. Methodology

Evidence Verification

✓ Verified
Previous Version
c218a556b60a30e05b8cb088bb0e79633b2f12d03691d7541d3f8d5cdafcb5a2
April 19, 2026 06:03 UTC
✓ Verified
Current Version
2b4ae5b8b59222ac81fb6587464cac7a3eca362835c4980308135c241d40c088
May 27, 2026 01:17 UTC
✓ Verified
Change Detected
May 27, 2026 01:17 UTC
✓
Analysis Methodology
✓ Verified
Source Document
https://policies.google.com/privacy
Record history

Wording edits to this record that do not change what it claims. Changes to a claim are published as corrections.

2026-10-11 · Feed summary edited · summary regenerated by summarize_events
Previous text
Clarified data collection scope to explicitly include unsigned-out browser data and media files; detailed history storage by service type.
2026-10-11 · Impact summary edited · summary regenerated by summarize_events
Previous text
The updated policy clarifies how Google collects and stores activity data. The policy now explicitly states that Google collects data from unsigned-out browser sessions using device identifiers, and adds media files (images, files, audio, video) to the list of activity information it collects. The policy also provides more granular detail about how activity is stored to different history categories depending on the service (Search, Maps, Shopping, or Web & App Activity). These changes make prior practices more explicit but do not authorize new collection types beyond what was previously disclosed. You can continue to adjust privacy settings and history controls through your Google Account to manage whether data is saved.
2026-10-11 · Summary edited · summary regenerated by summarize_events
Previous text
YouTube Ads updated its Google Privacy Policy on May 27, 2026, clarifying and expanding descriptions of how data is collected and used. The policy now explicitly states that Google collects data not associated with user accounts (previously only implied), adds media files to the list of collected activity types, and refines language describing how activity data is saved to user histories. The policy also introduces examples of which Google services store activity to specific history categories (Search Services History, Web & App Activity). These changes primarily clarify existing practices rather than introducing fundamentally new data collection or usage, though they make explicit what was previously described in general terms.
2026-10-07 · Change line edited · change line rewritten to the 2026-10-07 template: no detection date, no sentence counts
Previous text
Google updated their Google Privacy Policy on May 27, 2026. Change detected: 8 sentence(s) added, 7 sentence(s) removed, 23 sentence(s) modified. Document contained 363 sentences after update.
Citation Record
Entity: Google
Document: Google Privacy Policy
Record ID: CA-X-002372
Version: CA-V-003017
Captured: 2026-05-27 01:17:29 UTC
URL: https://conductatlas.com/change/2026-05-27-google-google-privacy-policy-2372/
Accessed: Oct. 25, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
For legal and compliance teams

Institutional Analysis

Generated by a model from the captured document; not read by a person
Assessment

Google's privacy policy revision clarifies and expands disclosure of data collection practices, particularly for signed-out users and media collected from user interactions. The change reorganizes privacy control terminology and provides more granular examples of which …

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ConductAtlas provides verified policy intelligence sourced directly from platform documents. All analysis is intended to support, not replace, legal and compliance review. Record CA-X-002372.

Full Changes

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Document Context

Version history → Policy drift analysis → Document page →
Document
Google Privacy Policy
Entity
Google
Captured
May 27, 2026
Source URL
https://policies.google.com/privacy
Other changes to Google Privacy Policy
Previous change Apr 18, 2026
Reissued 2026-10-07: this change was first recorded in reverse as CA-X-001296, which was withdrawn; this record describes it in the …
Low Neutral
Next change Oct 3, 2026
Google's Privacy Policy now gives an effective date of October 1, 2026, replacing May 26, 2026. One passage changed. It …
Medium
View full version history →
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