Waze · Waze Privacy Policy · View original document ↗

Data Sharing with Google and Affiliates

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Document Record

What it is

Waze shares your personal data, including location and usage information, with its parent company Google and affiliated entities within the Google group.

This analysis describes what Waze'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

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

The clause establishes a data-sharing framework between Waze and Google's broader corporate ecosystem, enabling cross-platform advertising coordination and measurement across multiple Google services and partner properties.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

Medium May 5, 2026

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.

View change record →
Medium Apr 19, 2026

The updated policy removes explicit language describing how Waze collects phone numbers from device contact books and integrates social network accounts. Previously, the policy stated that Waze would 'periodically collect all of the phone numbers which are stored on your device's phone contacts book' and described how this information was used for the 'find friends' feature. The revised policy no longer includes these specific disclosures. This does not necessarily mean the practices have stopped, but it means the policy provides less transparency about what data Waze collects from your device and how it uses contact information. Users who relied on these detailed descriptions to understand Waze's data practices will find the updated policy less explicit on these points.

View change record →
Medium Mar 23, 2026

The updated privacy policy now explicitly discloses that Waze periodically collects all phone numbers stored in your device's contact book as part of the 'find friends' feature. According to the policy, this information is collected in an anonymous form to Waze and is used to identify other Waze users you may know. The terms also clarify that social network information can be shared with Waze and other users if you choose to connect your social network account. While the policy states that names, addresses, and other contact book information are not collected, some contact information may be saved locally on your device for local search purposes. You can control whether this feature operates by not using the 'find friends' feature or by not granting the app contact access through your device settings.

View change record →

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Your Waze data, including location history and driving behavior, may be merged with your broader Google profile, affecting the ads you see and how Google tracks you across services.

What you can do

⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
  • Export Your Data
    Visit Waze support and submit a data access request to see what personal data Waze holds and has shared with Google affiliates.

How other platforms handle this

Venmo Medium

When you use the Venmo services, we share your information with other companies in the PayPal family of companies to help operate our services, prevent fraud, and offer you products and services. We also share your information with service providers that help us operate the Venmo services, including...

LinkedIn Medium

We may share your personal data with our affiliates to provide and develop our Services. We may combine information internally across the different Services covered by this Privacy Policy to help our Services be more relevant and useful to you and others. Affiliates include LinkedIn's parents compan...

Twilio Medium

We may share your personal information with third-party vendors, service providers, contractors, or agents who perform services on our behalf, such as analytics, advertising, payment processing, customer support, and email delivery. We may also share your information with our corporate affiliates, i...

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
Waze may also share personal information with companies or organizations connected or affiliated with Waze, such as subsidiaries, sister-companies and parent companies (i.e. entities that belong to the Google group of companies). We work with other Google's services (such as Google Display and Video 360) for advertising and ad measurement purposes. In order to help advertisers decide what ads to show on Waze, Google, and websites & apps that partner with Google, we may share information with these services, such as a unique identifier for advertising (i.e, Advertising ID available on Android mobile devices or similar technologies).

— Excerpt from Waze's Waze Privacy Policy

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

Data sharing between Waze and Google constitutes a controller-to-controller transfer under GDPR, requiring adequate legal basis and potentially triggering Chapter V cross-border transfer mechanisms if data flows outside the EEA.

Full compliance analysis

Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has authority over data sharing practices between affiliated companies that may constitute unfair or deceptive acts, particularly regarding consumer expectations.
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US
VPPA
United States Federal

Provision details

Document information
Document
Waze Privacy Policy
Entity
Waze
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 20, 2026
Last verified
March 20, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-001586
Document ID
CA-D-00323
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
45803b11348d42f651da909a5850166476a52159de02955f9255545a8fcd2247
Analysis generated
March 20, 2026 06:31 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Waze
Document: Waze Privacy Policy
Record ID: CA-P-001586
Captured: 2026-03-20 06:31:53 UTC
SHA-256: 45803b11348d42f6…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/waze/waze-privacy-policy/data-sharing-with-google-and-affiliates/
Accessed: May 20, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

Other risks in this policy

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Built from archived source documents, structured governance mappings, and historical version tracking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Waze's Data Sharing with Google and Affiliates clause do?

The clause establishes a data-sharing framework between Waze and Google's broader corporate ecosystem, enabling cross-platform advertising coordination and measurement across multiple Google services and partner properties.

How does this clause affect you?

Your Waze data, including location history and driving behavior, may be merged with your broader Google profile, affecting the ads you see and how Google tracks you across services.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Waze?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Waze.