The policy authorizes sharing of personal information with Google affiliates and third-party service providers for purposes including data center operations, product delivery, internal process improvement, YouTube content review, and analysis of saved user audio samples for audio recognition technology improvement.
This analysis describes what Google's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision discloses that service providers may access personal information including saved audio samples for technology improvement purposes, in addition to operational service delivery functions. The disclosure that audio samples from user recordings are analyzed by service providers for audio recognition improvement is operationally significant for users of Google Assistant and related voice features.
The updated policy establishes a new opt-in mechanism that allows Google services like Search and Gemini to access data from other Google services you use, including Gmail, Google Photos, and Drive, to personalize your experience and show you targeted ads. Previously, Google's policy stated it did not show personalized ads based on content from these services. Under the revised terms, if you choose to enable this feature, Google may use data from Gmail, Photos, and Drive to personalize ads and content, including through a feature called Personal Intelligence. You can manage this through your Google account settings to control which services can access data from other services.
View change record →Google's Privacy Policy now gives an effective date of October 1, 2026, replacing May 26, 2026. One passage changed. It covers information Google collects when you are not signed in, which it stores with identifiers tied to your browser, app or device. The policy previously said this lets Google show more relevant search results or ads “based on your activity”; it now says “based on your activity across devices.”
View change record →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.
View change record →⚠ Personal information including saved audio samples may continue to be shared with Google's service providers for the purposes described in the policy unless users delete relevant activity data or adjust voice and audio settings.
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Sharing with Service Providers and Affiliates and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →"We provide personal information to our affiliates and other trusted businesses or persons to process it for us, based on our instructions and in compliance with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures. For example, we use service providers to help operate our data centers, deliver our products and services, improve our internal business processes, and offer additional support to customers and users. We also use service providers to help review YouTube video content for public safety and analyze and listen to samples of saved user audio to help improve Google's audio recognition technologies.Excerpt from Google's Privacy Policy
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision implicates GDPR data processor obligations and the requirement that processing agreements with service providers comply with Article 28.
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This provision discloses that service providers may access personal information including saved audio samples for technology improvement purposes, in addition to operational service delivery functions. The disclosure that audio samples from user recordings are analyzed by service providers for audio recognition improvement is operationally significant for users of Google Assistant and related voice features.
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