Google as a data controller
Google operates as a data controller for AdSense. Publishers use AdSense as an independent data controller, not a processor or joint controller. This is reflected in our Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms, which now form part of the Terms and Conditions for AdSense.
A user’s visit to one site or app in the AdSense or Google AdMob network, where ads personalization is on, will help advertisers to serve more relevant ads to that user when they visit other sites or apps in the AdSense or AdMob network. So if the user visits one site that talks about bicycles, then visits another publisher’s site, the user might see ads for bicycles. That is not a consequence of AdSense and AdMob being designated as controllers; rather, that’s how these products have worked since their inception. Because they operate in that way, AdSense and AdMob are controller products.
Managing data
Our AdSense Program Policies prohibit the use of AdSense to pass any information to Google that Google could use or recognize as personally-identifiable information. This would include, for example, end users’ email addresses or phone numbers.
Each ad request on a publisher’s site or app will share certain data from the user’s device, for instance the user’s IP address will be shared with Google. An ad request on a web page will also share existing cookies or cause new cookies to be set (depending on the user’s browser settings). For details of the cookies we use, see Types of cookies used by Google. Location data may also be shared, where available.
What is the data used for?
Google uses AdSense data to help us provide and develop the AdSense services (described further below) and to make advertising more effective. We use cookies to stop users from seeing the same ad over and over again, to detect and stop click fraud, and to show ads that are likely to be more relevant to the user (such as ads based on websites the user has visited). AdSense data is used for analytics purposes and to deliver reports to publishers about their account and performance.
Data access
Google uses strict access controls (using both automated technical controls and internal policy controls) to limit internal access to the personal data to only those with a business need to access it.
AdSense shares limited end user data with ad networks. Publishers can control the participating ad networks by using in-product controls. This data is shared to help the ad network decide whether they want to serve an ad to the user and, if so, which ad they want to show, and how much they want to bid.
The information that is shared with potential bidders includes:
- The web address of the page, or name of the app, provided the publisher allows such sharing
- The category of that page (e.g., “Sports News”) and its language
- The type of browser and device the user is using, and their device’s screen size
- The user’s approximate geographic location (note that when the user’s device is set to share their precise location, we share only an area with bidders, not their precise location, and that area approximates to at least one square kilometer – roughly the size of 200 football fields – and may be significantly larger in sparsely populated areas)
- A truncated version of the user’s IP address, which potential bidders may use for purposes such as determining the user’s approximate geography for themselves, and as a signal to protect against advertising fraud
- For web pages, an encrypted cookie identifier that is unique to the potential bidder, which helps a bidder that has its own cookie on the user’s browser to look at any other information it has associated with that cookie (e.g., based on that cookie, the bidder may know that the user is a female with an interest in hockey)
- For apps and other devices, such as gaming consoles and connected TV devices, an advertising ID that serves the same purpose.
In addition, our Google Ad Manager policies restrict the ways in which Ad Manager bidders are allowed to use this information.
Data retention, data deletion, and data portability
Signed-in Google users can delete past searches, browsing history, and other authenticated activity from their Google Accounts. When these events are deleted, they will no longer contribute to that user’s signed-in ads profile. For more information about the data deletion functionalities available in My Activity, please refer to the My Activity help center. Signed-in users can also view and edit their Google account ads profile in Ads Settings.
End user data from users who are not signed-in Google users can no longer be used by Google for purposes of targeting that user if:
- The user’s cookie expires or the user chooses to delete/clear their cookies; or
- The user turns off ads personalization across the web via Google Ads Settings.
We store a record of the ads we serve in our logs, for signed-in and signed-out users. These server logs typically include a user’s web request, IP address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of the ad request, and one or more cookies or an advertising ID that may uniquely identify that user’s browser or mobile device. We anonymize IP addresses in logs by removing part of the address after 9 months. After 18 months, we further anonymize log data by anonymizing or deleting cookie or advertising ID information in both logs and ad serving databases.
User data tied to cookies and advertising IDs is also used to detect and prevent ad fraud and ensure that users don’t see ads that they’ve blocked in the past. In these cases, or in cases where Google stores this data on behalf of its customers (e.g., in Google Analytics), data may be stored for periods longer than those specified above.
When AdSense associates information about a signed-in Google user’s activity with the user’s Google Account, the user can access that activity through My Activity, as described above. Signed-in Google users can also export all their My Activity records (including ads-related records) via Download your data.
