Summary of changes to Google’s Terms of Service

This summary will help you understand the key updates we made to our Terms of Service. We hope this page is helpful, but we urge you to read the Terms in full.

Terms

Service provider

This section identifies the name and location of the Google company that provides the services you use.

  • We added Google’s value-added tax (VAT) number for your reference

Your relationship with Google

What you can expect from us

This section describes our approach to improving and changing our services.

  • We updated the examples of Google services to reflect changes in how we do business and in our branding
  • We clarified that many of our services include content that you can stream or interact with
  • We renamed the “Improve Google services” section as “Develop, improve, and update Google services” to better reflect the content of the section. In addition:
    • We revised and reorganized some of the content in this section to make it easier to understand
    • We distinguished between the various kinds of services we provide, and explained the reasons we modify and update them
    • Finally, we described the advance notice we provide if we make changes that negatively affect your ability to access the services, and your rights in those situations

What we expect from you

This section describes your responsibilities if you choose to use Google services.

  • We gave more examples of the “rules of conduct” that we expect all users to follow

Software in Google services

This section describes software that you may find in our services, and explains the permissions given to you to use that software.

  • We deleted the restriction on “reverse engineering” to better reflect your rights
  • We moved the last paragraph of this section to the “Develop, improve, and update Google services” section to better organize this content

In case of problems and disagreements

This section explains the legal concepts that establish expectations and responsibilities in case of problems.

  • We revised the first paragraph of this section to clarify the sources of your legal rights

Legal guarantee

This section summarizes the guarantee provided to you by law. This legal guarantee is an assurance that a product or service will perform to a certain standard.

  • We added this section to help EEA-based consumers understand their rights under the EEA’s legal guarantee covering digital content, services, and goods

Disclaimers

This section specifies and limits our legal responsibilities under the Terms and service-specific additional terms.

  • We deleted this section because EU law and your local law already determine the scope of our legal responsibilities

Liabilities

This section describes our liabilities in case of disputes. A liability is a loss from any type of legal claim. These Terms only limit our liabilities as allowed by applicable law.

  • We revised and reorganized this section for clarity

Taking action in case of problems

This section describes the reasons why we might remove your content from our services or stop your access to Google services.

  • We added a sentence describing your right to withdraw from these terms if you’re an EEA-based consumer

Settling disputes, governing law, and courts

This section explains which laws and courts we’ll use to resolve any legal disputes.

  • We clarified how to resolve disputes with us directly

EEA instructions on withdrawal

This section provides you with a copy of the European Union’s Model Instructions on Withdrawal.

  • We included this EU standard form for your convenience. If you’re an EEA-based consumer, you can use this form starting on May 28, 2022

Key Terms

This section describes key words that appear in the Terms.

  • We added definitions for the phrases “commercial guarantee”, “lack of conformity”, and “legal guarantee” to help you understand these legal concepts in the new Legal guarantee section

Definitions

affiliate

An entity that belongs to the Google group of companies, which means Google LLC and its subsidiaries, including the following companies that provide consumer services in the EU: Google Ireland Limited, Google Commerce Limited, and Google Dialer Inc.

business user

An individual or entity who is not a consumer (see consumer).

commercial guarantee

A commercial guarantee is a voluntary commitment that certain quality standards will be met and that if those standards aren’t met, the company offering the guarantee is responsible for repairing, replacing, or refunding the consumer for defective items.

consumer

An individual who uses Google services for personal, non-commercial purposes outside of their trade, business, craft, or profession. This includes “consumers” as defined in Article 2.1 of the EU Consumer Rights Directive. (See business user)

A legal right that allows the creator of an original work (such as a blog post, photo, or video) to decide if and how that original work may be used by others, subject to certain limitations and exceptions.

country version

If you have a Google Account, we associate your account with a country (or territory) so that we can determine:

  • the Google affiliate that provides the services to you and that processes your information as you use the services
  • the version of the terms that govern our relationship

When you’re signed out, your country version is determined by the location where you’re using Google services. If you have an account, you can sign in and view these terms to see the country associated with it.

disclaimer

A statement that limits someone’s legal responsibilities.

EU Platform-to-Business Regulation

The Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services.

immaterial rights

Rights other than intellectual property rights and data protection rights related to your content, such as your right to authorize the use of your own image in photos or videos, even if the photo or video doesn’t belong to you.

indemnify or indemnity

An individual or organization’s contractual obligation to compensate the losses suffered by another individual or organization from legal proceedings such as lawsuits.

intellectual property rights (IP rights)

Rights over the creations of a person’s mind, such as inventions (patent rights); literary and artistic works (copyright); designs (design rights); and symbols, names, and images used in commerce (trademarks). IP rights may belong to you, another individual, or an organization.

lack of conformity

A legal concept that defines the difference between how something should work and how it actually works. Under the law, how something should work is based on how the seller or trader describes it, whether its quality and performance are satisfactory, and its fitness for the usual purpose of such items.

A legal guarantee is a requirement under the law that a seller or trader is liable if their digital content, services, or goods are defective (that is, that they lack conformity).

liability

Losses from any type of legal claim, whether the claim is based on a contract, tort (including negligence), or other reason, and whether or not those losses could have been reasonably anticipated or foreseen.

organization

A legal entity (such as a corporation, non-profit, or school) and not an individual person.

services

The Google services that are subject to these terms are the products and services listed at https://policies.google.com/terms/service-specific, including:

  • apps and sites (like Search and Maps)
  • platforms (like Google Shopping)
  • integrated services (like Maps embedded in other companies’ apps or sites)
  • devices and other goods (like Google Nest)

Many of these services also include content that you can stream or interact with.

trademark

Symbols, names, and images used in commerce that are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one individual or organization from those of another.

your content

Things that you create, upload, submit, store, send, or share using our services, such as:

  • Docs, Sheets, and Slides you create
  • blog posts you upload through Blogger
  • reviews you submit through Maps
  • videos you store in Drive
  • emails you send through Gmail
  • pictures you share with friends through Photos
  • travel itineraries that you share with Google
Google apps
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