Summary
Waze's privacy policy explains how the navigation app collects and uses your data, including your precise location at all times while using the app, your driving habits, search history, and device information. This data is shared with Google and may be used to show you personalized ads. You have rights to see, correct, or delete your data by contacting Waze directly.
Technical Summary
This is the Waze Mobile Limited Privacy Policy governing the collection, use, storage, and sharing of personal data from users of the Waze navigation application and website. The policy establishes Waze's basis for processing location data, usage data, device identifiers, and user-generated content, and discloses sharing practices with Google (Waze's parent company) and third-party partners. Key obligations include providing users with rights to access, correct, and delete their data, with enhanced rights for EU/EEA users under GDPR and California residents under CCPA. Notable provisions include continuous background location tracking, sharing of anonymized/aggregated driving data, use of data for advertising personalization, and data retention policies tied to account activity. The policy also addresses children's privacy, third-party integrations, and cross-border data transfers.
Analyzed Changes
2 changes analyzed since monitoring began.
What changed
Waze updated their Waze Privacy Policy on April 19, 2026. Change detected: 1 sentence(s) added, 7 sentence(s) removed, 25 sentence(s) modified. Document contained 265 sentences after update.
Consumer impact
Waze expanded the stated purpose for background location collection to include 'predicted drives,' meaning the app may now track your movement even when you haven't planned a trip, under a broader algorithmic rationale. The removal of the 'find friends' and social network sections eliminates prior transparency about how contact and social data were handled, leaving users without a clear policy statement about those practices. You can review and restrict Waze's background location access in your device's app permissions settings to limit passive location tracking.
Why it matters
The expansion of location tracking to 'predicted drives' means Waze can collect your location data more broadly than before, and the removal of 'find friends' and social network disclosures leaves users without clear information about whether their contacts and social data are still being used.
What changed
Waze updated their Waze Privacy Policy on March 23, 2026. Change detected: 7 sentence(s) added, 1 sentence(s) removed, 25 sentence(s) modified. Document contained 271 sentences after update.
Consumer impact
Waze's updated policy now discloses that it periodically collects all phone numbers stored in your device's contacts book (in anonymized form) and may collect your phone number to verify your account and power a 'find friends' feature. It also now allows you to link social network accounts and share profile information with Waze and other users. You can review your Waze account settings and device permissions to disable contacts access and opt out of social network linking if you do not wish to participate in the 'find friends' feature.
Why it matters
Waze is now collecting phone contacts and phone numbers from users' devices, which represents a meaningful expansion of personal data collection that affects not just Waze users but also people in their contacts who have never agreed to share their information with Waze. Users who do not want their contacts harvested should review and restrict Waze's device permissions immediately.