Anything you add to the Waze map or report within the app (such as traffic incidents or road edits) may be publicly visible to other users and can be used by Waze and shared with third parties to improve its services.
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
This provision establishes that user-contributed map data and incident reports are treated as community data that may be publicly visible and commercially used, meaning contributions are not private communications but shared content subject to broad use rights.
Interpretive note: The policy does not specify whether GDPR erasure rights extend to user-contributed map data that has been incorporated into the public map, creating uncertainty about the practical scope of deletion rights for EU users.
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of the 'find friends' feature that previously collected phone numbers from device contacts, suggesting that feature is no longer active or has been redesigned.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 →Previous version was titled 'User-Generated Content and Community Data' with no excerpt; current version renamed and expanded with specific details about public visibility and third-party sharing of user contributions.
View full change record →The policy states that user map contributions and incident reports may be publicly visible and shared with third parties; users who contribute location-tagged content should be aware that such contributions may be linked to their activity and disclosed beyond the Waze platform.
How other platforms handle this
Your Profile will not publicly include or link to Your Content submitted semi-/anonymously to our services.
If you choose to reveal any personal information about yourself to other users, you do so at your own risk. We strongly encourage you to use caution in disclosing any personal information online.
When you are asked to provide information, you may decline to do so; but if you choose not to provide information that is necessary to provide some of our Services, you may not be able to use those Services.
"When you contribute to Waze, such as by reporting incidents, editing the map, or submitting other user-generated content, this information becomes part of the Waze community and may be publicly visible. We may use this information to improve our services and may share it with third parties.Excerpt from Waze's Privacy Policy
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: User-generated content that is location-tagged may constitute personal data under GDPR if it is linkable to an identifiable individual, requiring a lawful basis for its processing and public disclosure.
Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.
Ad personalization controls removed. Contact scanning added. Advertiser data partnerships quietly dropped. A timeline of every change.
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This provision establishes that user-contributed map data and incident reports are treated as community data that may be publicly visible and commercially used, meaning contributions are not private communications but shared content subject to broad use rights.
The policy states that user map contributions and incident reports may be publicly visible and shared with third parties; users who contribute location-tagged content should be aware that such contributions may be linked to their activity and disclosed beyond the Waze platform.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 290 platforms. See the full comparison.
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