Terms of Service update
We are updating the Google Terms of Service. The new Terms will go live on November 11, 2013 and you can read them here.
Because many of you are allergic to legalese, here’s a plain English summary for your convenience.
We’ve made three changes:
- First, clarifying how your Profile name and photo might appear in
Google products (including in reviews, advertising and other commercial
contexts).
- You can control whether your image and name appear in ads via the Shared Endorsements setting.
- Second, a reminder to use your mobile devices safely.
- Third, details on the importance of keeping your password confidential.
Here are some more details:
How your Profile name and photo may appear (including in reviews and advertising)
We want to give you – and your friends and connections – the most
useful information. Recommendations from people you know can really
help. So your friends, family and others may see your Profile name and
photo, and content like the reviews you share or the ads you +1’d. This
only happens when you take an action (things like +1’ing, commenting or
following) – and the only people who see it are the people you’ve chosen
to share that content with. On Google, you’re in control of what you share.
This update to our Terms of Service doesn’t change in any way who
you’ve shared things with in the past or your ability to control who you
want to share things with in the future.
Feedback from people you know can save you time and improve
results for you and your friends across all Google services, including
Search, Maps, Play and in advertising. For example, your friends might
see that you rated an album 4 stars on the band’s Google Play page. And
the +1 you gave your favorite local bakery could be included in an ad
that the bakery runs through Google. We call these recommendations shared endorsements and you can learn more about them here.
When it comes to shared endorsements in ads, you can control the use of your Profile name and photo via the Shared Endorsements setting.
If you turn the setting to “off,” your Profile name and photo will not
show up on that ad for your favorite bakery or any other ads. This
setting only applies to use in ads, and doesn’t change whether your
Profile name or photo may be used in other places such as Google Play.
If you previously told Google that you did not want your +1’s to
appear in ads, then of course we’ll continue to respect that choice as a
part of this updated setting. For users under 18, their actions won’t
appear in shared endorsements in ads and certain other contexts.
For greater control over your experience with ads on Google, you can also use Google’s Ads Settings tool to manage ads you see. Learn more.
Use your mobile devices safely
It’s just good common sense: Don’t use our services if you’re doing
something that requires your full attention, like driving, and our
services might distract you. And, of course, always follow the law while
driving.
Be careful with your password
Our top priority is keeping your information safe and secure. Your
Google username and password let you access lots of useful things – your
Gmail messages, Google+ photos, YouTube videos, Google Contacts list
and more. Anyone you give your login details to could use them to access
your Google Account and the stuff you store with Google. So if you’re
asked for your password, think twice and consider whether there might be
safer and more secure ways to share the information.
If we see something out of the ordinary (such as if we notice
failed attempts to login to your account, or two logins to your account
within a short time frame, but from computers located very far away from
each other) you may see an unusual activity alert.
Learn about other ways to keep your Google Account secure, including adding 2-step verification and using application-specific passwords.
Thank you for making it to the end of this page – we know this
stuff can be dry, but we think it is important. To see how the terms
apply to you, please check out the Terms of Service for your country.
