Last modified: November 22, 2011
The Google Privacy Policy describes how we treat personal information when you use Google’s products and services, including our advertising services. In addition, this Privacy Policy describes our privacy practices related to text and display advertising that appear on our own sites and on the sites of our AdSense partners in the Google Display Network and also on third-party partner sites, certain Google Applications and other clients.
When we serve a text ad on Google Search or on the sites of our AdSense for search partners, those ads may be served based on a variety of factors, including: your recent search queries, the language we believe you prefer when performing your search, and standard log information, including cookie and device information, IP address, browser type, operating system and the date and time of your request.
When we serve text and display ads on certain Google services, AdSense sites, partner sites, applications and other clients, those ads may be served based on a variety of factors including: the content, domain, and language of the page where the ad is displayed; partner data and the standard log information described above. When you are accessing the web through a web browser, to serve ads that are relevant and tailored to your interests, we may use information about your activity on AdSense sites, partner sites or Google services that use the DoubleClick cookie. Some of these sites and services also may use non-personally identifying information, such as demographic data, to provide relevant advertising. Our AdSense partners and Google services may display ads from both Google advertisers and other third-party ad serving companies, including other ad networks, provided they comply with Google’s third-party ad serving requirements.
When you are accessing the web through a web browser, when we serve an ad to you, we may place a cookie in your browser. A cookie is a text file, consisting of a series of random numbers and letters that serves as a pseudonymous identifier for your browser, but does not identify you. We use cookies, web beacons or other technologies to record information about what ads your browser is shown, as well as what ads you click and other actions you take on our sites and services. Cookies allow us to serve more relevant and useful ads to you.
To serve ads in applications and other clients where cookie technology is not available, we have engineered an anonymous ID by associating your device ID with a random, anonymous string of characters. To serve ads that are relevant and tailored to your interests, we may use information about your activity in applications or other clients that use an anonymous ID. Some of these applications or other clients also may use non-personally identifying information, such as demographic data, to provide relevant advertising. Applications and other clients may display ads from both Google advertisers and other third-party ad serving companies, including other ad networks, provided they comply with Google’s third-party ad serving requirements.
The following describes how our cookies and anonymous IDs work to support our advertising services and conversion tracking, and how you can opt out of receiving these identifiers.
Google uses the DoubleClick cookie on AdSense sites, partner sites and certain Google services to help advertisers and publishers serve and manage ads across the web. When you visit a website and view or click on an ad served through these sites, we may place the DoubleClick cookie on your browser. The DoubleClick cookie identifier associated with your web browser is the same identifier used when you visit websites that use DoubleClick advertising services. If you already have a DoubleClick cookie on your browser, no additional DoubleClick cookies should be dropped.
For more information about the use of the DoubleClick cookie in DoubleClick’s advertising services, check out the DoubleClick Privacy FAQ.
You may view and manage your advertising preferences at any time, as described below.
We use the advertising cookie information collected on AdSense sites, partner sites and certain Google sites to:
The advertising cookie information described above is provided to advertisers and publishers who use our advertising services. In addition, Google or our advertising and publishing customers may use web beacons in conjunction with the DoubleClick cookie to collect information about your visit to the website and exposure to a particular advertisement.
Google will not combine DoubleClick cookie information from AdSense sites, partner sites or Google services that use the DoubleClick cookie with:
Google strives to provide you with relevant and useful advertising. Based on activity on our Adsense sites, partner sites and Google services that use the DoubleClick cookie, we may associate the cookie with relevant interest categories for interest-based ads. Google then uses these categories to show interest-based ads on these sites. Google will not associate sensitive interest categories with the DoubleClick cookie (such as those based on race, religion, sexual orientation, health, or sensitive financial categories) and will not use these categories when showing you interest-based ads.
You may view and make choices about interest-based ads, including opting out, in the Ads Preferences Manager. Your ads preferences will be respected across all AdSense sites, partner sites that use Google interest categories,and Google services that use interest-based ads, or the DoubleClick cookie to serve such ads.
Read more information about interest-based advertising and the Ads Preferences Manager.
You may choose to opt out of the DoubleClick cookie at any time.
If you select the DoubleClick opt-out cookie, ads delivered to your browser by our ad-serving technology will not be served based on the DoubleClick cookie. Your DoubleClick opt-out cookie will not be uniquely identified. Other options on AdSense sites, partner sites and Google services that use the DoubleClick cookie may no longer be available; for example, we may no longer be able to prevent your browser from being served with the same ad over and over.
As long as your browser retains the DoubleClick opt-out cookie, Google won’t serve new DoubleClick cookies to your browser.
Using a tool created by the Network Advertising Initiative, of which Google is a member, you can opt out of several third-party ad servers’ and networks’ cookies simultaneously.
When you get a new computer, install a new browser, erase or otherwise alter your browser’s cookie file (including upgrading certain browsers) you may also clear the cookies in your browser, including the DoubleClick opt-out cookie. Google offers a number of options to preserve your opt-out cookie.
Google also uses a cookie to measure advertising performance for advertisers who have opted-in to conversion tracking on Google and its AdSense partners websites. The conversion tracking cookie is set when a user clicks on an ad delivered by Google where the advertiser has opted-in to tracking. These cookies expire within 30 days and are not personally-identifiable. If this cookie has not yet expired when the user visits certain pages of the advertiser’s website, Google and the advertiser will be able to tell that the user clicked the ad and proceeded to that page. Each advertiser gets a different cookie, so no cookie can be tracked across advertiser websites.
We use the information collected by the conversion cookie to provide aggregate conversion stats to advertisers who have opted-in to conversion tracking. Advertisers are able to see the total number of users who have clicked on their ad and proceeded to a page tagged with a conversion tracking tag, but they do not have access to personally identifying information.
If you want to disable conversion tracking cookies, you can set your browser to block cookies from the googleadservices.com domain.
Google may use other cookies for advertising services from time to time.
You can opt out of interest-based ads through the Ads Preferences Manager or by using the tool created by the Network Advertising Initiative.
If you want to disable all Google cookies, you can set your browser to block cookies from the Google domain. However, some Google features and services may not function properly if your cookies are disabled.
Google also uses “anonymous IDs” to serve ads in applications and other clients that do not support cookie technology. When you use an application or other client, the application or other client may send device information to us. We anonymize that device information by associating your device ID with a random, anonymous string of characters.
We use the anonymous ID information collected on mobile applications or other clients to:
Google strives to provide you with relevant and useful advertising. Based on activity in applications and other clients that use the anonymous ID, we may associate the anonymous ID with relevant interest categories. Google then uses these categories to show interest-based ads on these applications or other clients. Google will not associate sensitive interest categories with the anonymous ID (such as those based on race, religion, sexual orientation, health, or sensitive financial categories) and will not use these categories when showing you interest-based ads.
Using your device, you may view, edit and add to the categories associated with anonymous IDs used to provide you with interest-based advertising. Read more about device specific preference managers.
Your ads preferences will be respected across all applications or other clients that use the anonymous ID to serve such ads. Read more information about device specific interest-based advertising.
You may choose to reset or opt out of anonymous IDs at any time.
If you choose to reset, we will associate your device identifier with a new anonymous ID.
If you choose to opt out, ads delivered to your application or other client by our ad-serving technology will not be served based on an anonymous ID. Other customization options in applications or other clients that use the anonymous ID may no longer be available; for example, we may no longer be able to prevent your application or other client from being served with the same ad over and over.
As long as you remain opted out of the anonymous ID, Google won’t serve new anonymous IDs to your application or other client.
Google requires customers that display Google ads to comply with all applicable laws, including data protection laws that require posting a privacy policy. We encourage all users to review the privacy policies of sites they visit for information about those sites’ data practices.
If you have any questions about this policy, please feel free to contact us online or write to us at
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