Is Google's Terms of Service safe?

Top concerning points

1. 1.

   Your identity is used in ads that are shown to other users

   blocker

   High

   Ads shown to other users may include a reference to you as an implied endorsement. Might give away information about your own personal lifestyle to strangers.

   Source quote / document
2. 2.

   You may still be tracked even after opting out from tracking

   blocker

   High

   Users can’t fully opt out of tracking technologies used for non essential purposes such as advertising, marketing or analytics. The user may be asked for consent for installing some tracking technologies on the device, and even if all are rejected the service will still track its visitors and ignore the choice.This case doesn’t apply to functional cookies that are necessary to provide the services.

3. 3.

   They store data on you even if you did not interact with the service

   blocker

   High

   Some services store data on you even if you did not provide that data yourself. For example, users might provide access to their address book, after which a service might also store the phone numbers of that person's contacts.

4. 4.

   Your browsing history can be viewed by the service

   blocker

   High

   The service can view your search history and the websites you visit, which is an extremely intrusive way of collecting information that may include personal and/or sensitive data.

5. 5.

   Your personal data is used for automated decision-making, profiling or AI training

   blocker

   High

   Personal data or content you share with the service may be processed to make decisions by automated means without human involvement. This includes profiling, which is any form of automated processing of your information to analyse or predict things like your economic situation, health, personal preferences or interests; as well as Artificial Intelligence training.

6. 6.

   This service may keep personal data after a request for erasure for business interests or legal obligations

   bad

   High

   After the end of the data retention period and/or if you request the deletion of your data, they may still keep it for business interests (fraud detection, transactions...) or legal obligations (tax, legal reporting...)

   Source quote / document
7. 7.

   The service can delete your account without prior notice and without a reason

   bad

   High

   At any time, your account can be terminated without explanation and without warning by the service.

   Source quote / document
8. 8.

   Your personal data is used for advertising

   bad

   High

   Your interaction with the service and data you have shared with them may be gathered to create an advertising ID or profile to target ads on you, either on the website you were visiting or in third party websites.

Frequently asked questions

What is Google's ToS;DR privacy grade?

ToS;DR rates Google as Grade E. Grades range from A (best) to E (worst). See the full breakdown on ToS;DR.

Is Google's Terms of Service safe?

ToS;DR's Grade E means the terms raise serious concerns. Read the blocker and bad points carefully before accepting.

What is a top concern in Google's terms?

Your identity is used in ads that are shown to other users — Ads shown to other users may include a reference to you as an implied endorsement. Might give away information about your own personal lifestyle to strangers. (Source: ToS;DR approved point).

Where can I read Google's official terms?

ToS;DR tracks "Terms of Service" at https://policies.google.com/terms#. Always prefer the official document over summaries.