Google Chrome Privacy Notice
Last modified: October 18, 2012 (view archived
versions)
The Google Privacy Policy
describes how we treat personal information when you use Google's products and
services, including when you use Chrome browser and Chrome OS to access those products
and services.
This Google Chrome Privacy Notice describes the privacy practices that are specific to
the Chrome family of products. This includes the Chrome browser, Chrome Frame, Chrome
OS, and Safe Browsing. Some of the features described in this Privacy Notice are
available in other web browsers (e.g. you may choose to run Chrome Frame in Microsoft
Internet Explorer or use Safe Browsing features in Mozilla Firefox), so remember that
you should also read the privacy policy for the browser in which the features are
running.
Not all of the features discussed in this Privacy Notice appear in all Chrome products.
To keep things simple, however, we’re going to use the term “Chrome” on its own to
refer to each of the products within the Chrome family -- including Chrome browser,
Chrome Frame, and Chrome OS. Where an individual Chrome product works in a different
way we’ll be sure to highlight that.
For early adopters who want to test features that are still under development, we make
available preview
versions (also known as beta, dev, and canary) of Chrome browser and Chrome OS in
addition to the stable version. Although this Google Chrome Privacy Notice applies to
the stable and preview versions, it may not be fully up to date when describing
features still under development in the preview versions.
Google will notify you of any material changes to this policy, and you will always have
the option to use Chrome in a way that does not send any personally identifiable
information to Google, or to remove your information and discontinue using it.
For step-by-step guides to help manage your privacy preferences read our guide to
Browsers, Google Chrome, Privacy and You
Information Google receives when you use Chrome
You do not need to provide any personally identifying information in order to use
Chrome.
When you use any browser, including Chrome, to contact Google’s servers, by default
Google receives standard
log information including your system’s IP address and one or more cookies.
You can configure Chrome browser and Chrome OS to not accept cookies from Google or
other sites. Learn more about configuring cookies and site
data in Chrome browser and Chrome OS.
If you use Chrome to access other Google services, such as using the search engine on
the Google homepage or checking Gmail, the fact that you are using Chrome does not
cause Google to receive any special or additional personally identifying information
about you.
In addition, some Chrome features may send limited additional information to Google or
your default search engine:
- If you use the Multiple Users feature of
Chrome browser, you can set up personalized copies of Chrome browser for users who are
sharing the same computing device. It isn’t intended to secure your data against other
people using your device - so anyone with access to your device can view all the
information in all profiles. To truly protect your data from being seen by others, use
the built-in user accounts in your operating system.
- If you choose Google as your search engine, Chrome will contact Google when it
starts or when you change networks so as to determine the best local web address to
send search queries. When you type URLs or queries in the Chrome address bar (omnibox),
the letters you type may be sent to your default search engine, so that the search
engine’s prediction feature can automatically recommend terms or URLs you may be
looking for. If you accept a predicted query or URL, Chrome may send that information
from the browser to your default search engine as well. Learn more about disabling server predictions in
the omnibox.
- If you use Chrome’s Instant feature
and it is supported by your default search engine,
search results and in-line predictions appear instantly as you type in the address bar.
Search results are requested as you type in the address bar, so the text you type may
be logged as search terms. For some helpful examples of Google’s logging policies for
Chrome Instant, see
our “Logging Policies for Chrome Instant” help center article.
- If you navigate to a URL that does not exist, Chrome may send the URL to Google so
we can help you find the URL you were looking for. We may also use this information in
an aggregated way to help other web users - e.g. to let them know that the site may be
down. Learn more about disabling suggestions on navigation
errors.
- Chrome periodically contacts Google to perform functions such as checking for
updates, checking connectivity status, validating current time, and estimating the
number of active users. Each copy of Chrome browser includes a temporary
randomly-generated installation number which will be sent to Google when you install
and first use the product. The temporary number will be promptly deleted the first time
that Chrome automatically checks for updates. If you received or reactivated your copy
of the Chrome browser as part of a promotional campaign, it may also generate a
non-unique promotional tag which is sent to Google when performing searches with Google
and a unique token which is sent to Google when you first run and use the browser after
installation, reinstallation, or reactivation. Furthermore, field
trials may result in different variations of Chrome, and Chrome may send non-unique
information to Google about which variation is active.
- Chrome OS contacts Google’s enterprise servers during initial device setup to
determine if the device is subject to policies of an enterprise admin. This process
involves sending part of a hash of the device's serial number to Google's enterprise
servers and receiving back a list of hashed device serial numbers for devices
configured by enterprise admins to be enterprise devices. Chrome OS also contacts
Google’s enterprise servers each time a user signs in with a username that does not end
with @gmail.com or @googlemail.com to determine if the user account is subject to
policies of an enterprise admin. For devices and user accounts subject to enterprise
policies, Chrome OS will check periodically for updates to these policies. Enterprise
policies may involve status and activity reporting, including location information, set
up by the enterprise admin.
- If you sign in to Chrome browser or Chrome OS with your Google Account, this will
enable the synchronization feature. Google will store certain information, such as
bookmarks, history and other settings, on Google's servers in association with your
Google
Account. Information stored with your Account is protected by the Google Privacy Policy. We need to store
this information in order to make it available to you on other instances of Chrome in
which you choose to sign in. Learn more about the specific information you may
select to synchronize, and more about disabling Chrome’s synchronization
feature in Chrome browser.
- If you sign into Chrome OS with your Google Account or enable offline use of a
Google application in Chrome browser, Chrome may contact Google’s servers and
synchronize your data with a local copy to enable offline functionality.
- If you use the Translate feature of Chrome, it will send the text you choose to be
translated to Google for translation.
- If you use the Spellcheck feature of Chrome, which lets you use the same technology
used in Google search to check your spelling, it will send the text you type to Google
for spelling and grammar suggestions.
- If you use the speech input feature of Chrome, it will send Google an audio
recording of your spoken query, your default browser language and the grammar settings
of the web page for which you are using speech input. Google will use this information
to convert the recorded audio into text. If you have enabled usage statistics and crash
reports and you use the speech input feature, additional information will be sent to
Google. This information includes the URL of the website using speech input, your
operating system, and the manufacturer and model of the computing device and audio
hardware you are using.
- If you use Chrome’s AutoFill feature, which automatically completes web forms for
you based on similar forms you have filled out before, Chrome will send Google limited
information about the pages that have web forms, including a hashed URL of the web page
and details of the form's structure, so that we can improve our AutoFill service for
this web form. While the information that Chrome sends may include the fact that you
typed information into the form, the actual text that you type in the fields will not
be sent to Google unless you choose to store that data in your Google Account using
Chrome’s synchronization feature.
- If you use Chrome’s location feature, which allows you to share your location with
a web site, Chrome will send local network information to Google Location Services to
get an estimated location. Learn more about Google Location Services
and enabling / disabling location features within Google Chrome. The local network
information may include (depending on the capabilities of your device) information
about the wifi routers closest to you, cell IDs of the cell towers closest to you, the
strength of your wifi or cell signal, and the IP address that is currently assigned to
your device. We use the information to process the location request and to operate,
support, and improve the overall quality of Chrome and Google Location Services. The
collected information described above will be anonymized and aggregated before being
used by Google to develop new features or products and services, or to improve the
overall quality of any of Google’s other products and services.
- If you attempt to connect to a Google website using a secure connection, and the
browser blocks the connection due to information that indicates you are being actively
attacked by someone on the network (a “man in the middle attack”), Chrome may send
information about that connection to Google for the purpose of helping to determine the
extent of the attack and how the attack functions.
- You may choose to send usage statistics and crash
reports to Google. You can manage this setting within the Chrome preferences page;
for Chrome OS users, usage statistics and crash reports are enabled by default. This
setting will apply to all users for a given installation of Chrome. The usage
statistics and crash reports help us diagnose problems, help us understand how users
interact with Chrome, and help us improve Chrome's performance. Chrome tries to avoid
sending information that identifies you personally. Crash reports, however, can contain
information from files, applications and services that were running at the time of a
malfunction. We may share with third parties certain aggregated, non-personal
information we derive from our analysis, such as how frequently certain types of
crashes occur.
Information Google receives when you use the Safe Browsing feature on Chrome or other
browsers
Google Chrome and certain third party browsers (including some versions of Mozilla’s
Firefox and Apple’s Safari) includes Google's Safe Browsing feature. Safe Browsing
sends and receives information between the browser you are using and Google's servers
about suspicious websites -- for example when you visit a site that is suspected to be
a phishing or malware site.
Your browser will contact Google’s servers periodically to download the most recent
“Safe Browsing” list, containing known phishing and malware sites. Google does not
collect any account information or other personally identifying information as part of
this contact, but it does receive standard log information, including an IP address and
one or more cookies. The most recent copy of the list is stored locally on your system.
Each site you visit will be checked against the Safe Browsing list on your system. If
there is a match against the list, your browser will send Google a hashed, partial copy
of the site’s URL so that Google can send more information to your browser. Google
cannot determine the real URL from this information. Read more information about
how this works.
In addition, the following Safe Browsing features are specific to Chrome:
- Some versions of Chrome feature Safe Browsing technology that can identify
potentially harmful sites and executable file downloads not already known by Google.
Information regarding a potentially harmful site or executable file download (including
the full URL of the site or executable file download) may be sent to Google to help
determine whether the site or download is harmful. Google does not collect any account
information or other personally identifying information as part of this contact, but
does receive standard log information, including an IP address, URL visited and one or
more cookies.
- You can choose to send additional data to help improve Safe Browsing when you
access a site that appears to contain malware. This data is sent when you close or
navigate away from a Safe Browsing warning page. The reports contain data, such as the
URL and contents of the website as well as the URL of the page that directed you to
that site, that can be used by Google to verify whether the site is still serving
content that may exploit users.
- If usage statistics are enabled in Chrome and you visit a site that we think could
be potentially harmful, certain additional data will be shared with Google, including
the full URL that you visited, the “referer” header sent to that page, and the URL that
matched the Safe Browsing list.
- You can always choose to disable the Safe Browsing
feature within Chrome.
Information website operators receive when you visit a site using Chrome
Sites that you visit using Chrome will automatically receive standard
log information similar to that received by Google. These sites may also set their
own cookies
or store site data on your system. You can restrict cookies and other site data in
Chrome's preferences page.
If you enable Chrome’s network actions prediction feature and you visit a webpage,
Chrome may look up the IP addresses of all links on the webpage and open network
connections to load webpages faster. Sites can also use pre-rendering technology to
pre-load the links that you might click next.
If you use Chrome in incognito mode (or in guest mode on Chrome OS), it will not
transmit any pre-existing cookies to sites that you visit. Sites may deposit new
cookies on your system while you are in these modes; these cookies will only be
temporarily stored and transmitted to sites while you remain in incognito / guest mode.
They will be deleted when you close the browser, close all open incognito windows or
exit guest mode.
If you choose to use Chrome’s location feature, this service allows you to share your
location with a site. Chrome will not allow a site to access your location without your
permission. Google does not have control over third party websites or their privacy
practices. Please carefully consider any website’s privacy practices before consenting
to share your location with that website.
Information stored on your system when you use Chrome
Chrome stores some information locally on your system. This may include:
- Basic browsing history information, for example the URLs of pages that you visit, a
cache file of text and images from those pages, and a list of some IP addresses
linked from pages
that you visit.
- A searchable index of most pages you visit (except for secure pages with "https"
web addresses, such as some bank pages)
- Thumbnail-sized screenshots of most pages you visit
-
Cookies
or web storage data deposited on your system by websites you visit
- Locally-stored data saved by Add-ons
- A record of downloads you have made from websites
- A unique device identifier generated by Chrome OS which may be required by third
party services for access to their content. You can disable this feature in the Chrome
OS settings.
You can always choose to delete your browsing history
information, in whole or in part.
You can also limit the information Chrome stores on your system by using incognito mode (or guest mode
on Chrome OS). In these modes, Chrome will not store basic browsing history information
such as URLs, cached page text, or IP addresses of pages linked from the websites you
visit. It will also not store snapshots of pages that you visit or keep a record of
your downloads (although this information could still be stored elsewhere on your
system, e.g. in a list of recently opened files). New cookies received in these modes
will not be saved after you close your browser, close all open incognito windows or
exit guest mode. You can see when you are in incognito / guest mode because the
incognito icon appears in the top corner of your browser; in some cases the border of
your browser window may also change color.
When you make changes to your browser configuration, such as by bookmarking a web page
or changing your settings, this information is also saved. These changes are not
affected by incognito / guest mode.
You can choose to have Chrome save your passwords for specific websites. Stored
passwords can be reviewed in the Personal Stuff
tab of the Chrome preferences page.
Using apps, extensions, themes, services, and other add-ons with Chrome
You may use apps, extensions, themes, services and other add-ons (“Add-ons”) with
Chrome, including some that may be pre-installed or integrated with Chrome and some
that you may obtain from Chrome Web
Store or other sources.
Before installing an Add-on, you should review the requested permissions. Add-ons may
be designed to store, access, and share locally-stored data. Add-ons may use
notifications that are sent through Google servers. Chrome may check for, download, and
install updates to your Add-ons. Chrome may send usage indicators to Google for
installed Add-ons.
From time to time, Google may discover an Add-on that violates the developer terms for
Chrome Web Store or other legal agreements, laws, regulations or policies. Chrome may
periodically download a list of such Add-ons from Google’s servers, and Google may
remotely disable or remove such Add-ons from user systems in its sole discretion.
Add-ons developed and provided by Google may communicate with Google servers and are
subject to the Google Privacy Policy unless otherwise indicated. Add-ons developed and
provided by third parties are the responsibility of such third parties and may be
subject to third party privacy policies. For example, a version of the Adobe Flash
Player plug-in is preinstalled with Chrome. Adobe’s website at www.adobe.com provides
more information on Adobe’s privacy practices with regard to Flash Player, and you can
learn more about disabling
Flash Player or any other plug-ins.
Uses
Information that Google
receives when you use Chrome is processed in order to operate and improve Chrome
and other Google services. Information that other website operators receive
is subject to the privacy policies of those websites. Chrome stores information on your
system in order to improve Chrome’s performance and to provide you with useful features
and services.
More information
Google adheres to the US Safe Harbor privacy principles. For more information about the
Safe Harbor framework or our registration, see the Department of Commerce's web site.
Further information about Chrome is available here.
For more information about our privacy practices, go to the full privacy policy. If you have
additional questions, please contact us any
time. Or write to us at:
Privacy Matters
c/o Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View CA 94043 (USA)