YouTube Ads · Google Privacy Policy · View original document ↗

Cross-Service Data Combination for Advertising

High severity High confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Unique · 0 of 343 platforms
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Recent governance activity YouTube Ads recorded 3 documented changes in the last 30 days.
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This analysis describes what YouTube Ads'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 provision establishes the operational scope of Google's ad targeting infrastructure by defining which data sources can be combined for personalization purposes and which categories are explicitly excluded from this process. This directly affects the scale and specificity of the advertising targeting system available through YouTube Ads.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

Medium Apr 18, 2026

The updated policy makes several material clarifications about how Google links your activity across websites and apps. It shifts from describing analytics tools in isolation to framing them as part of a broader 'ad and analytics services' ecosystem, and broadens the scope of data linking to explicitly include 'cookies and other technologies'. The policy also clarifies that data sharing occurs even in private browsing modes. Review your Google Account activity controls to understand what data is being collected and linked across services you use.

View change record →

Clause Stability Stable

0
Changes
3
Months Monitored
Apr 4, 2026
First Seen
May 9, 2026
Last Seen
This clause type exists across 381 other provisions on other platforms.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Users whose browser is associated with Google's ad products will have their third-party browsing and search activity linked to their Google Account and used for ad personalization, unless they modify their settings. The terms authorize this data combination while carving out exclusions for sensitive health, demographic, and certain internal service categories.

How other platforms handle this

LinkedIn Medium

We target (and measure the performance of) ads to Members, Visitors and others both on and off our Services directly or through a variety of partners, using the following data, whether separately or combined: Data from advertising technologies on and off our Services, like web beacons, pixels, ad ta...

Microsoft Azure Medium

Microsoft uses data we collect to provide you with rich, interactive experiences. In particular, we may use data to show you advertising or serve Microsoft-selected content within Microsoft products and services. Microsoft does not use what you say in email, chat, video calls, or voice mail to targe...

Character.AI Medium

We may disclose personal information to advertising and analytics providers in connection with the provision of tailored advertising, to monitor the performance of advertisements displayed on our behalf on the Services and across the Internet, to provide analytics services, and to help improve our S...

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
We use the information we collect to customize our services for you, including providing recommendations, personalized content, and customized search results. Depending on your settings, we may also show you personalized ads based on your interests. We don't show you personalized ads based on sensitive categories, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or health. We also don't show personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Calendar. We associate your activity on other sites and apps with your Google Account if you are signed in or if your browser is associated with Google's ad products. This activity may come from apps and sites that partner with Google to show ads, and may include your searches and browsing activity on third-party sites.

— Excerpt from YouTube Ads's Google Privacy Policy

Applicable regulations

CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
COPPA
United States Federal
ePrivacy Directive
European Union
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union

Provision details

Document information
Document
Google Privacy Policy
Entity
YouTube Ads
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 9, 2026
Last verified
May 10, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-001899
Document ID
CA-D-00015
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
aa03b38dd31cbe7f8b512c6ed4540e71344422af579a30b3181af7ba776b11a4
Analysis generated
May 9, 2026 14:54 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: YouTube Ads
Document: Google Privacy Policy
Record ID: CA-P-001899
Captured: 2026-05-09 14:54:59 UTC
SHA-256: aa03b38dd31cbe7f…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/youtube-ads/google-privacy-policy/cross-service-data-combination-for-advertising/
Accessed: June 27, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does YouTube Ads's Cross-Service Data Combination for Advertising clause do?

The provision establishes the operational scope of Google's ad targeting infrastructure by defining which data sources can be combined for personalization purposes and which categories are explicitly excluded from this process. This directly affects the scale and specificity of the advertising targeting system available through YouTube Ads.

How does this clause affect you?

Users whose browser is associated with Google's ad products will have their third-party browsing and search activity linked to their Google Account and used for ad personalization, unless they modify their settings. The terms authorize this data combination while carving out exclusions for sensitive health, demographic, and certain internal service categories.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with YouTube Ads?

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