Waze collects your precise GPS location continuously while the app is in use, including in the background, to provide navigation and community-based traffic features.
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
The provision establishes a continuous location data collection practice that extends beyond active app usage, creating a persistent record of user movements and travel patterns. This operational scope affects the volume and temporal breadth of location data retained by the service and available for the stated analytical and notification purposes.
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of the 'find friends' feature that previously collected phone numbers from device contacts, suggesting that feature is no longer active or has been redesigned.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.
View change record →Your precise location is collected at all times during app use and stored by Waze and Google, potentially used for advertising profiling and shared with third parties.
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telemetry information collected includes: (i) microservice settings, (ii) usage data and (iii) hardware environment.
"This location and route information is saved to a route history of all of the journeys you have made while using the Application. The types of location data we collect depends in part on your device and account settings. For example, depending on your selected device settings and/or your account settings we may collect information about your location and travel (or lack thereof) also while you are not using the app, in order to be able to tell you when to leave for planned drives, notify you about bad traffic in your area, provide you parking assistance, analyze how effective our ads are and more.Excerpt from Waze's Privacy Policy
Persistent background location collection triggers heightened obligations under GDPR Article 9 (if sensitive inferences are drawn), CCPA's 'sensitive personal information' category, and requires clear disclosure of retention periods and third-party sharing chains.
Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.
Netflix updated its Privacy Statement on April 18, 2026, disclosing voice recording collection and expanded household ad profiling for the first time.
Google's Privacy Policy covers Search, Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and every site running Google Analytics. Here is what it actually authorizes.
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The provision establishes a continuous location data collection practice that extends beyond active app usage, creating a persistent record of user movements and travel patterns. This operational scope affects the volume and temporal breadth of location data retained by the service and available for the stated analytical and notification purposes.
Your precise location is collected at all times during app use and stored by Waze and Google, potentially used for advertising profiling and shared with third parties.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 296 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Waze.