Search engines
Google Search privacy rating
Google's web search engine. Searches are linked to accounts, cookies and devices to personalize results and ads.
Summary
Google Search scores 25 out of 100 (grade F) on the search engines criteria. It meets 2 of 11 criteria: transparency report and tells users about requests. It partly meets TLS configuration, no profile-based ads and no account needed. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, independent audit, security headers and no search history logs. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade B and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade C.
Score 25 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- No
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No
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
Search activity is collected with cookie, device and account identifiers for personalization and ads, and this cannot be fully turned off.
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No
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Funded by advertising.
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No
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
No independent audit is published.
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Yes
Transparency report Weight 2 of 3
Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds?
Google publishes counts of government requests for user data and how it responds, updated twice a year.
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Yes
Tells users about requests Weight 1 of 3
Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it?
Google emails the user before disclosing data in response to a government request, unless prohibited by law.
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No
No search history logs Weight 3 of 3
Are searches stored without IP addresses or other identifiers?
Searches are tied to accounts and cookies; server logs keep part of the IP address for 9 months and cookie data for 18 months.
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Partial
No profile-based ads Weight 2 of 3
Are ads (if any) based only on the current search, not a profile?
Personalized ads are on by default and can be turned off in Google account settings.
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Partial
No account needed Weight 1 of 3
Can every feature be used without an account?
Search works without an account; saved history and some personalized features need a Google account.
Automated tests
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Partial
TLS configuration Weight 2 of 3
Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better?
Grade B
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No
Security headers Weight 1 of 3
Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better?
Grade C (55/100+)
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Not tested yet
Modern web standards Weight 1 of 3
Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test?
Not tested yet.