A helpful home is a private home

Our commitment to privacy in the home – outlined in this guide – applies to our connected home devices and services that use Google Accounts and carry the Google Nest, Google Home, Nest, Google Wifi or Chromecast brand. This means that it will also apply to people who migrate from Nest accounts to Google Accounts, where available. In addition, Google's Privacy Policy also applies to the devices and services listed above; for example, it describes how we use service providers, how we may share non-personally identifiable information, and how and when we may store and share your information for legal reasons – none of which are affected by the commitments below. Also, note that you can use many other Google services with your connected home devices, such as YouTube, Google Maps and Google Duo. When you use these other Google services, what data those services collect and how that data is used are determined by the terms of those individual services and Google's Privacy Policy .

We want you, your family and your guests to feel comfortable using these devices and services, since their purpose is to help and to provide peace of mind. We also recognise that we’re a guest in your home, and we respect and appreciate that invitation. Technology in the home is dynamic and evolving, so we'll approach our work with humility, a commitment to seeking out many points of view and an eagerness to learn and adapt.

If someone outside of Google discovers a security vulnerability in one of our devices, we want to know about it. To qualify for a monetary award, the researcher must wait for Google to patch the vulnerability before disclosing it to anyone else. This programme creates an incentive for security researchers around the world to help us make our devices more secure.

We have dedicated security teams that analyse the hardware and software of each device before it's available to the public, and we do our best to make sure that our devices are secure. After the initial verification is performed, we also continue to analyse risks and security threats after devices are introduced, and we provide automatic, critical security updates for at least five years .

Google looks for activity that seems like it isn't being performed by you. For example, if there's an attempt to sign in to your account from an unrecognised device.

Two-step verification makes it harder for someone to sign in to your account, even if they have your password. When two-step verification is enabled, anyone signing in to your account will need to complete a second step, or 'factor', before signing in. You can choose from multiple second factors, including a text message, a code from the Google Authenticator app or a notification from an installed Google app.

Migrating to a Google Account gives you new benefits, like:


• Automatic security protections such as suspicious activity detection, two-step verification and Security Check-Up.
• Your Google Nest devices and services work together. For example, if you have a Nest Cam and a Chromecast, just say, 'Hey Google, show me the back garden camera' to cast your camera stream to your TV without any setup.
• One account to sign in to both the Nest and Google Home apps.
• Your homes and home members are aligned across the Nest and Google Home apps.
  

Anyone with an existing Nest account can migrate to a Google Account. To migrate your account, in the Nest app, go to Account settings and then select Migrate to a Google Account.

We publish a list of Google devices showing the minimum committed date range for critical security updates .

Security updates don't address vulnerabilities that result from a device being used in a way that it wasn't intended, or that might compromise its security. For example:

• Devices that aren't properly factory reset before being given to someone else
  
• Accounts that don't use two-step verification
  
• Devices made by other manufacturers that haven't been assessed by Google and may have access to your network and Google Nest devices

First, we cryptographically verify software, making sure that it's signed by Google before it's installed. Second, our hardware released after 2019 uses Verified Boot to check that it's running the right software every time that the device restarts.

Any time that you use your Google Account to sign in to a phone, computer, app or connected home device, they're connected. Make sure that you sign out of devices that you don't own or control, and check your Google Account for devices that you don't recognise.

Sign out of the device or home to revoke access and change your password .

You can review and delete stored video footage either through the Nest app (in the case of Nest Cam recordings) or My Activity (for interactions with Google Assistant).

Yes, but only as part of the Face Match setup process, and not after you've completed setup. When you set up Face Match on your Nest Hub Max, you use your phone to capture several photos that are combined to create a unique model of your face. These photos are sent to Google, and you can review or delete them at any time by visiting My Activity . After this setup process, Face Match does not send any video or images to Google. And Quick Gestures does not require sending any video or images to Google at all. In addition, we keep the video and images that power these features separate from advertising and don't use them for ad personalisation.

One example of this is that we may offer the option to share video clips from Nest Cam with your home security service, so that they can help keep your home safe. Also, remember that you can use your device's camera with other Google services (such as uploading a video to YouTube or making a video call with Google Duo) – and when you do this, Google's Privacy Policy will apply.

Some models of our cameras support recording video footage while offline. For these cameras, video footage will be uploaded when the camera goes back online after the video footage has been recorded. That means that you may not see a visual indicator when your camera is sending the video footage to our servers – but in those instances, a visual indicator would have been visible when the camera was actually recording the video footage.

You can review and delete stored audio recordings either through the Nest app (in the case of Nest Cam recordings) or My Activity (for interactions with the Google Assistant). You can also delete your Google Assistant activity with voice commands .

We keep your audio recordings separate from advertising and don't use them for ad personalisation – but when you interact with your Assistant by voice, we may use the text of those interactions to inform your interests for ad personalisation. You can always review your Google settings to control the ads that you see , including opting out of ad personalisation completely. Learn more about Google Assistant and the choices available to you here .

One example of this is that we may offer the option to share audio clips from Nest Cam with your home security service, so that they can help keep your home safe.

Sometimes, such as when it is faster to fulfil your Google Assistant request locally on the device, your audio recording will be transmitted to Google servers only after the visual indicator has turned off and your request has been fulfilled. In these instances, the visual indicator will be visible when the microphone is active, as opposed to when the audio data is transmitted to Google servers.

Our devices include environmental and activity sensors that detect information about your home's environment and what's happening in it, such as motion, whether or not someone is home, ambient light, temperature and humidity. Data from these sensors, which is regularly sent to Google, serves a variety of purposes, such as helping your home take better care of you, helping us make your devices and services better, and keeping you informed. For example:



• The temperature and humidity sensors in your Nest Learning Thermostat help keep your home comfortable while saving energy.
• Home/Away Assist uses activity sensors across multiple Nest devices in your home to automatically switch the behaviour of Nest devices in your home when you leave and when you come back .
• We used ambient light and temperature sensor data aggregated from thermostats across our customers to determine that direct sunlight can cause thermostats to think that it's warmer than it actually is, so we introduced Sunblock , a new feature, to help your thermostat adjust for this so that it sets the correct temperature.
• We use sensor data to help us troubleshoot and improve the performance, safety and reliability of our devices and services – for example, we use temperature and humidity data from our devices to measure the impact of environmental conditions on battery life.
• We may also use sensor data to keep you informed of updates on Google services, including connected home services that we think may interest you, such as energy and home-safety programmes – but we'll always respect your choice about whether or not you want to receive promotional emails from Google.
• We do not use environmental and activity sensor data for ad personalisation. For example, we don't use sleep data from your Nest Hub (2nd gen) for ad personalisation. (Remember that to fulfil some requests related to your connected home devices – for example, 'Hey Google, what's the temperature inside?' – your Assistant can retrieve a sensor reading.) Learn more about Google Assistant and the choices available to you here .)
• When you delete your account, this sensor data is deleted from our servers as explained in our retention policy .

One example of this is that you can choose to share data with utility companies to benefit from energy savings programmes and services like Rush Hour Rewards .

Google Wifi collects and uses data as explained here , including information about the types of connected devices that you have and their network usage. The cloud services, Wifi point stats and app stats data described here (which we refer to as 'Wi-Fi network performance data') are not used for ad personalisation. We may use this data to keep you informed about updates on Google services, including connected home devices and services that we think may help you – such as an additional Wifi point to improve your Internet connectivity. You can opt out from certain portions of this data collection as explained here .

Google Wifi does not track the websites that you visit, nor does it monitor the content of traffic on your Wi-Fi network. Google Wifi sets your default DNS provider to 'Automatic', which uses Google Public DNS or your Internet service provider's (ISP) DNS if certain conditions are met. More info on what Google Public DNS collects can be found here . You can change your DNS provider in the Advanced networking settings of the Google Home app at any time.

One example of this is that you may be able to share your Wi-Fi network performance data with your Internet service provider so that they can help you troubleshoot your Wi-Fi or Internet connectivity issues.