What are the institutional and regulatory implications of this document?

1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: The policy explicitly identifies GDPR, UK data protection law, Brazil's LGPD, and Israeli data protection law as applicable frameworks, naming consent, legitimate interests, contractual necessity, and legal obligation as processing bases. The FTC retains oversight authority over U.S. consumer data practices. Cross-border data transfers to servers in the EU and U.S. are disclosed; the policy asserts uniform protections are applied regardless of processing location, but t…

How does Waze's Waze Privacy Policy affect users?

The agreement establishes that Waze collects detailed GPS location and route data, device identifiers, voice recordings, calendar information, and third-party app activity, and authorizes sharing de-identified versions of this data with Google affiliate mapping and navigation services. Under these terms, enabling Invisible Mode prevents other users from seeing a user's location on the map, but the policy states that location and route information continues to be collected by Waze for the purpos…

How often is Waze's Waze Privacy Policy updated?

ConductAtlas monitors this document daily and captures every version with cryptographic hashing and timestamp verification. Update frequency varies — see the change timeline on this page for complete version history.

Can I get alerted when Waze updates this document?

Yes. Monitor subscribers ($19/month) can add Waze to their watchlist and receive same-day email alerts whenever this document or any other Waze document changes.

CA-D-000323

Waze Privacy Policy

Waze

Last change detected July 9, 2026 Privacy policy

SHA-256: 937770f9c8875745471… 5 versions captured 4 changes documented

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View original document at Waze ↗

This page describes what the document states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability may vary by jurisdiction. Methodology

113 Total

29 High severity

58 Medium severity

26 Low severity

Summary

This is Waze Mobile Limited's Privacy Policy, which governs how the Waze navigation app collects, uses, shares, and retains personal data including GPS location and route history, device identifiers, voice recordings, search queries, and calendar information. The policy states that Waze shares de-identified location, route, and metadata with Google affiliate mapping and navigation products, and authorizes use of Google's advertising technology to serve both contextual and personalized ads based on saved addresses, drive history, and Google Account activity. The policy also discloses that activating Invisible Mode stops other users from seeing a user's location on the map, but does not stop Waze from continuing to collect that location and route data for its own stated purposes.

Technical / Legal Breakdown

This document is Waze Mobile Limited's Privacy Policy, governing data collection, processing, sharing, and retention practices for users of the Waze navigation application and website, with stated legal bases including consent, legitimate interests, contractual necessity, and legal obligation across EU, UK, Brazilian, Israeli, and other jurisdictions. The policy states that Waze collects GPS and sensor-derived location and route data, device identifiers, IP addresses, search queries, voice and audio files, calendar information, browsing activity on third-party sites linked to Waze, and metadata about app and device usage; the terms authorize sharing this information with Google affiliates for mapping and navigation development, with Google Ads for advertising and measurement, with service providers under confidentiality obligations, and with law enforcement under applicable legal standards. The policy discloses that even when a user activates Invisible Mode, location and route data continues to be collected by Waze, and that de-identified location, route, and metadata are shared with Google mapping and navigation products; the terms also state that Waze may collect location information when the app is not in active use, depending on device and account settings. The policy engages GDPR, the UK Data Protection Act, Brazil's LGPD, Israeli data protection law, and U.S. consumer protection frameworks including applicable FTC authority; cross-border data transfers to servers in the EU and U.S. are disclosed, with the policy asserting application of uniform protections regardless of processing location, though the adequacy of those protections relative to GDPR transfer mechanism requirements warrants evaluation. Material compliance considerations include the scope of Google-affiliate data sharing, the basis for legitimate interests processing of advertising-related data, the adequacy of consent mechanisms for voice and audio collection, and the approximately two-month deletion timeline disclosed for account deletion requests.

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4 important changes detected

5 versions captured · Last updated: July 2026

July 9, 2026

medium

What changed Waze removed its age restriction requiring users to be 16 or older and instead added a definition of Personal Information in the policy header. The policy also removed detailed references to social network integration and the 'find friends' feature that collected phone numbers from device contacts, while keeping the core privacy control mechanism intact. These changes simplify disclosure of how Personal Information is defined and eliminate documentation of specific data collection features that are no longer prominent or have been deprecated.

Why this matters The updated policy now applies to users of any age by removing the prior 16+ requirement, but does not explicitly state whether parental consent is required for minors. The policy defines Personal Information more broadly to include location, route information, and data reasonably linked to you by Waze. The company removed documentation of the 'find friends' feature that previously collected phone numbers from device contacts, suggesting that feature is no longer active or has been redesigned. Privacy controls remain available through in-app settings where you can adjust which Personal Information Waze collects and how it is used.

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May 5, 2026

medium

What changed Waze updated its privacy policy on May 5, 2026 to add explicit language about collecting phone numbers from your device's contact book through the 'find friends' feature, and to clarify how social network information can be shared through the app. The policy now states that Waze periodically collects all phone numbers stored on your device to help identify other Waze users you may know, and that phone numbers are collected in a form that is initially anonymous to Waze. The updated terms also detail how you can connect your social network accounts and share profile information.

Why this matters The updated policy now explicitly discloses that Waze periodically collects all phone numbers stored on your device's contact book as part of the 'find friends' feature. According to the revised terms, these phone numbers are collected in a form that is initially anonymous to Waze and are used to help create a list of other Waze users you may know. The policy clarifies that names, addresses, and other contact information are not collected from your phone book, though such information may be saved locally on your device for local searches. Additionally, the updated terms now explicitly authorize connecting your Waze account to social network accounts and sharing profile information from those networks. You can control whether to use the 'find friends' feature and whether to connect social network accounts to your Waze account.

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April 19, 2026 medium

Waze updated its privacy policy on April 19, 2026, removing detailed language about social network integration, the 'find friends' feature, and phone number collection, while making minor grammatical edits to …

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March 23, 2026 medium

Waze updated its privacy policy on March 23, 2026 to add explicit disclosures about social network integration and the 'find friends' feature. The updated terms now specifically describe how the …

View change record →

Featured — High severity

Data Shared in Merger Acquisition or Bankruptcy Compare →

“If Waze organizes the operation of the Services within a different framework...or if Waze is acquired by, or merged into or with another entity, or if Waze enters …”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 284 platforms
De-Identified Data Shared With Google Affiliates Compare →

“Waze will share your de-identified information, including your Account settings, location and route-related data and meta-data with other Google mapping and navigation products and services”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 284 platforms
EU UK and Israeli Residents Have Data Subject Rights Compare →

“If the European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK) or Israel's data protection law applies...we provide the controls described in this policy so you can exercise your right to …”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 286 platforms
Invisible Mode Does Not Stop Location Collection Compare →

“while you will be 'invisible' on the map to other users, your location and route information will continue to be collected by Waze for the purposes listed in …”

Added July 9, 2026 Standard Seen across 297 platforms
Location Collected When App Not in Use Compare →

“we may collect information about your location and travel (or lack thereof) even when you are not using the app, to tell you when to leave for planned …”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 297 platforms
No Ad Personalization on Sensitive Categories Compare →

“We don't personalize ads based on sensitive categories, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or health.”

Added July 10, 2026 Common Seen across 141 platforms
Public Content Submissions Not Confidential Compare →

“any content that you choose to share and submit for posting is neither private nor confidential and you should expect that it may be made public and known …”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 284 platforms
Route History Saved for All Journeys Compare →

“This location and route information is saved to a route history of all of the journeys you have made while using the Application.”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 269 platforms
Substantial Policy Changes Effective After 30 Days Compare →

“Substantial changes will take effect 30 days after Waze has posted a: System message to users notifying them of changes to the Privacy Policy; and Notification on the …”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 287 platforms
User Participation in Activities Entirely at Own Risk Compare →

“Participating in any user's activities as a result, directly or indirectly, from using Waze, is entirely at your own risk.”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 284 platforms
Waze Does Not Sell or Lease Personal Information Compare →

“Waze does not sell, rent or lease your personal information to third parties.”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 284 platforms

Featured — Medium severity

Deletion Process Takes Approximately Two Months Compare →

“This process generally takes around 2 months from the time the deletion request was made.”

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 269 platforms