FAQ
- How does Google protect my privacy?
- Why does Google store search engine logs data?
- Why are search engine logs kept before being anonymized?
- How can I remove information about myself from Google’s search results?
- Does Google use cookies?
- What happens when different privacy laws in different countries conflict?
- How often are you asked by governments to provide data on users?
- How can I contact Google if I have a privacy question or complaint?
How does Google protect my privacy?
At Google, we are keenly aware of the trust our users place in us, and our responsibility to protect their privacy. We believe transparency and choice are the foundations of privacy. To help you make informed decisions about your own privacy, we work to let you know what information we collect when you use our products and services and how we use that information to improve your service. We also work to give you meaningful choices when possible about the information you provide to Google and to others. We encourage you to watch our videos, read our privacy policy and consult our Help Centers to find out more about privacy at Google.
Why does Google store search engine logs data?
We store this data for a number of reasons. Most importantly, we store data to improve our search results and to maintain the security of our systems. Analyzing logs data helps our engineers both improve your search quality and build helpful innovative services. Take the example of Google Spell Checker. Google’s spell checking software automatically looks at a user’s query and checks to see if that user is using the most common version of the word’s spelling. If we calculate a user is likely to get more relevant search results with an alternative spelling, we’ll ask “Did you mean: (more common spelling)?” In order to provide this service, we study the data in our logs. Logs data also helps us improve our search results. If we know that users are clicking on the #1 result, we know we’re probably doing something right, and if they’re hitting next page or reformulating their query, we’re probably doing something wrong. In addition, logs data helps us prevent against fraud and other abuses, like phishing, scripting attacks, and spam, including query click spam and ads click spam.
Why are search engine logs kept before being anonymized?
We strike a reasonable balance between the competing pressures we face, such as the privacy of our users, the security of our systems and the need for innovation. We believe anonymizing IP addresses after 9 months and cookies in our search engine logs after 18 months strikes the right balance.
How can I remove information about myself from Google’s search results?
Like all search engines, Google is a reflection of the content and information publicly available on the web. Search engines do not have the ability to remove content directly from the web, so removing search results from Google or another search engine leaves the underlying content unaffected. If you want to remove something from the web, you should contact the webmaster of the site and ask him or her to make a change. Once the content has been removed and Google’s search engine crawl has visited the page again, the information will no longer appear in Google’s search results. If you have an urgent removal request, you can also visit our help page for more information.
Does Google use cookies?
Yes, like most websites and search engines, Google uses cookies to improve your experience and to provide services and advertising. Cookies help us keep a record of your preferences, like whether you want your search results in English or French, or if you use our SafeSearch filter. Without cookies, Google wouldn’t be able to remember what different people like. We also use cookies to provide advertising more relevant to your interests.
We’ve been told most users don’t want to re-set their computers every time they log on. If you don’t want to receive cookies you can change your browsers to notify you when cookies are sent and then refuse cookies from certain websites (or altogether). You can also delete cookies from your browser. Google’s search engine does work without cookies, but you will lose some functionality if you choose to disable cookies.
What happens when different privacy laws in different countries conflict?
Many countries approach privacy issues differently and there is no consistent global standard on which all countries agree. Google’s privacy policy is designed to be a single, clear, global statement of our approach to privacy, and our privacy practices under it are designed to meet applicable law around the world.
How often are you asked by governments to provide data on users?
Like other technology and communications companies, we receive requests from government agencies around the world to provide information about users of our services and products. To help increase transparency about these requests we have created the Government Requests Tool, which shows the number of requests that we have received that relate primarily to criminal investigations. For more information about the tool and the nature of these requests, please check the Government Requests Tool FAQ.
How can I contact Google if I have a privacy question or complaint?
You can contact us any time through our privacy contact form. If you prefer, you can also write to:
Privacy Mattersc/o Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, California, 94043
USA