"Waze collects extensive location, contact, and behavioral data with vague policies on third-party sharing and retention. Primary risks are unclear data monetization plans, indefinite retention, and minimal user control beyond permission denial."
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5 Privacy Improvements Available
waze Privacy Concerns & Scorecard
Waze collects precise GPS location data continuously, along with driving routes, speed, and real-time movement patterns. The app also requests access to contacts, photos, videos, audio recordings, and system settings without clear necessity for navigation functionality.
Policy vaguely references potential future sale of mapping and driving behavior data to unspecified parties. No explicit disclosure of current third-party recipients or data-sharing agreements.
Data retention periods are not specified in the policy segment provided. The vague language suggests data may be retained indefinitely without clear deletion mechanisms or user control.
Users have minimal opt-out options beyond denying app permissions at installation. No explicit opt-out mechanisms for data usage, retention, or sharing are mentioned. Policy language is vague regarding data usage intentions and future plans.
No explicit advertising tracking mechanisms or cross-site behavioral tracking described in the policy segment reviewed. However, this absence may reflect incomplete policy documentation rather than absence of tracking.
Personal data export
- 1Sign in to waze.com/account in a web browser.
- 2Click on 'Download your Waze data'.
- 3Follow the on-screen instructions and click 'Request data archive' when ready.
- 4Write down the temporary password provided — you will need it to open the encrypted archive.
- 5Check your email for the data archive link and use the temporary password to open the encrypted ZIP file within 24 hours.
Push notification opt out
- 1Open the Waze app.
- 2Tap the menu icon.
- 3Tap Settings.
- 4Scroll down and tap Notifications.
- 5To turn off push notifications: clear the individual notifications you want to disable, or clear 'Receive all push notifications' to turn off all push notifications at once.
- 6To turn off email notifications: tap the Email tab, then clear individual notifications or clear 'Receive all email notifications' to turn off all email notifications.
- 7Scroll down and tap Save.
Account deletion
- 1Open the Waze app.
- 2Tap the menu icon.
- 3Tap 'View profile', below your name.
- 4Tap 'Account and login'.
- 5Scroll down and tap 'Delete account'.
- 6Tap 'Continue' to confirm. You may need to enter your login details to verify your identity.
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Data Collection & Tracking
Personal Information Collected
Provide navigation, traffic updates, and route optimization services.
Unclear; not required for core navigation functionality.
Allow users to report road conditions, hazards, and other incidents with multimedia evidence.
Optimize app performance and ensure compatibility.
Improve traffic predictions, route optimization, and service features.
Cross-Platform Tracking
No explicit cross-platform or cross-device tracking mechanisms are described in the policy segment. However, as a Google-owned service, Waze data may be linked to your Google account and combined with data from other Google services, though this is not explicitly stated in the Waze-specific policy.
Terms of Service Updates
Increased post engagement (hearts: 11→12)
The main announcement post received one additional heart/like reaction, increasing from 11 to 12. This is a minor engagement metric change with no material impact on user rights or obligations.
Effective: August 28, 2026
Minor view count increases in related topics
Two related topic entries show slight view count increases: one from 9.4k to 9.5k views, and another from 254 to 259 views. These are negligible increases in page traffic with no impact on terms, policies, or user obligations.
Effective: August 28, 2026
AI & Data Training
waze does not train AI on your content
Based on their public policy, your content is not used to train AI models.
How to Object
No opt-out available
This service does not currently provide a public way to opt out of AI training.
Why We Analyzed waze
TrueTerms automatically audits privacy policies and data practices using advanced machine learning to keep you informed and protected. This scorecard is based on the latest available public terms of service and privacy policies as of 2026.