Data security and privacy on devices that work with Assistant

Google’s Privacy Policy explains what information we collect; why we collect it; and how you can update, manage, export, and delete your information, including when you interact with the Google Assistant. Learn more about Assistant and your privacy where we explain how your audio data is handled when you interact with the Assistant using a Google connected home device, as well as the controls available to you. You can review and update your Google Account settings anytime to choose what you share with your Assistant.

The Google Assistant is designed to wait in standby mode until it is activated, like when you say “Hey Google.” The Assistant starts in standby mode, waiting to be activated. In standby mode, it processes short snippets of audio (a few seconds) to detect an activation (such as “Ok Google”). If no activation is detected, then those audio snippets won’t be sent or saved to Google. When an activation is detected, the Assistant comes out of standby mode to fulfill your request.

The status indicator on your device lets you know when the Assistant is activated. And when it’s in standby mode, the Assistant won’t send what you are saying to Google or anyone else. To help keep you in control, we're constantly working to make the Assistant better at reducing unintended activations.

Google uses information you permit it to access, such as your device contacts or activity on Google sites and apps, to provide better, more helpful answers through the Google Assistant. Third party services may also share information with Google pursuant to their own privacy policies when you choose to use those services via Google services, including the Google Assistant.

Yes. Activity controls in your Google Account let you decide what data is saved and used across Google services. For example, if you have enabled the Web & App Activity setting, the Google Assistant and Home apps can use your search history to provide you with better, more helpful answers from the Google Assistant. The Google Home app asks you to provide your address during setup. If you choose not to do so, Google Home app will guess your approximate location based on your IP address and other signals in order to set alarms for the right time zone and provide you with relevant weather and traffic information.

If you have chosen to share information with Google then, subject to your settings, Google uses that information, along with your Google activity, to better assist you and personalize your experiences with Google services, including the Assistant. For example, if you ask, “When is my mom’s birthday?” the Assistant answers your question using information from your Calendar. Or if you ask “Do I need an umbrella tomorrow?” the Assistant uses your current location to give you the most relevant answer.

You can delete your activity manually, set up automatic deletion or turn off Web & App Activity entirely, which will limit the personalized experience in the Google Assistant and other Google services. You can view your activity with the Google Assistant by visiting your Assistant Activity, which is accessible through the Google Home and Google Assistant apps and online at myactivity.google.com. You have control over your data and the ability to delete activity at any time. 

Please read the Google Privacy Policy, the Frequently Asked Questions on Privacy: Google Nest, and our commitment to privacy in the home to understand what data Google collects, why we collect it, and the settings and tools available to you to update, manage, export, and delete your information when you use our devices and services.

Google handles your data as described in the Google Privacy Policy. If you use our connected home devices and services, please also read Google’s commitment to privacy in the home and the Frequently Asked Questions on Privacy: Google Nest, where we explain some limits Google has placed on how your data is handled. Our privacy on Google Assistant video explains how your Assistant audio data is handled when you interact with the Google Assistant, and how the Google Assistant protects your privacy and gives you transparency, choice and control.

Google stores data about your interactions with the Google Assistant on its servers, which reside in its data centers. For more information, you can visit https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/. You can view and delete your past interactions with the Google Assistant in My Activity. Learn about Google Assistant and your privacy.   

Some Google Nest devices and services, such as Google Nest Hub Max, store and process some of your data locally on your device and not on Google servers. To learn more, please read the FAQs on camera sensing and FAQs on Face Match.

By default, we don’t retain your audio recordings. You can decide to save your audio to make Google speech products more helpful to you and better for everyone. Visit your data in the Assistant to learn more about how your data makes the Assistant work for you.

You can always visit your Assistant Activity tool to review or delete data from your interactions with your Assistant. To control your Assistant activity using your voice, you can also just say something like, “Hey Google, delete what I said this week,” and the Google Assistant will delete your audio recordings. You can also choose to have your activity deleted automatically. Learn more about the Google Assistant and your privacy.

Your security comes first in everything we do. Go to myaccount.google.com to understand how we keep your account protected and to complete a Security Checkup.

You can always choose to delete your home in the Google Home app, or your Google Account (account.google.com), but if you only uninstall your Google Home app, it will not delete your account or home information. Learn about how to delete and remove access to Google Nest devices. 

You can delete your activity in the Google Home app or at myactivity.google.com.

No. You can learn more about how the Google Assistant protects your privacy and gives you transparency, choice and control. 

Never. We do not sell your personal information to anyone. There are some circumstances where we share information with third parties, which are listed in Google's Privacy Policy. For example, using a Google connected home device, if you request a service from a business like Uber, we will send information you've provided to that service to complete a booking or confirm a ride. In these cases, we will have previously asked you to give us permission to share that information with that service.

Please note that when you use third-party services with our connected home devices and services, their own terms and privacy policies will also govern your use of those services. Review those carefully as you use those other services. For example, to help you faster and more easily, a service might use information from its past interactions with you.

In addition, a service that recommends concerts in your area can remember your music preferences if you share them with that service, so you don’t have to tell them each time. Learn more about how to choose which services remember you.

Before a service can see any of the information stored in your account (such as your email address, name, or contacts), it’ll ask for your permission. We won’t share personal information like your name, email, or address with a service without your permission. Please note that when you use third-party services with our connected home devices and services, their own terms and privacy policies will also govern your use of those services, so please be careful about who you choose to share information with.

For example, if you’re using a service to find local plumbers, it may ask:

“In order to recommend a plumber nearby, I'll just need to get your street address from Google. Is that ok?”

You can accept or deny the request.

We don't share Assistant queries with Works with Google Assistant partners. Google transcribes what you say and sends the text, but not the audio, to the third-party partner.