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support.google.com - How classic Hangouts protects your privacy & keeps you in control

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Keeping you safe online means protecting your information and respecting your privacy. That’s why, in every product we make, we focus on keeping your information secure, treating it responsibly, and keeping you in control. Our teams work every day to make Google products safe no matter what you’re doing—browsing the web, managing your inbox, or getting directions. Your information is protected by world-class security. You can always control your privacy settings in your Google Account.

For general information about privacy on classic Hangouts, keep reading this article.

For more about privacy tools, visit the Google Safety Center.

A more helpful & personalized experience for you

When you use classic Hangouts, we process some information to offer you better experiences in the product. Your information stays secure. You can always control your privacy settings in your Google Account.

Your content is stored securely

The messages and attachments you send in classic Hangouts are stored securely in our world-class data centers. To let conversation participants view message history, we store messages. Data is encrypted in-transit and at-rest. If you choose to access these files offline, we store this info on your device. Audio and video is transmitted but not stored when you use classic Hangouts for video calls. Your Google Account comes with built-in security designed to detect and block threats like spam, phishing and malware. Your activity is stored using strong industry standards and practices.

Your name & email address help sync your data

To store your preferences, help you sign in, and show your name when you send messages, we save your name and email address. To show your profile photo to others when you send messages, we also store your photo. To make it easy to fill out fields when you send messages, we save your contacts in secure data centers. You can find someone’s contact info on classic Hangouts.

Your information helps you create & manage your Google Account

To create a brand new Google account, we collect your name and phone number. When you manage your Google account, you can choose to provide your physical address, upload your contacts, or add a profile photo.

Classic Hangouts uses data to improve your experience

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To provide services like spam filtering, virus detection, malware protection and the ability to search for files within your individual account, we process your content. To improve classic Hangouts’ performance and reliability, and to help with troubleshooting in case of issues while you use classic Hangouts, we collect performance data and user feedback. We also save this info to help prevent abuse of our services and for analysis. To show you which messages have been viewed and give you a custom ranking of your contacts, we collect info about the way you use classic Hangouts. You can delete or turn off your Hangouts classic message history. To provide your language in-app, and to keep your account secure, like if we notice you have signed in from a new location, we save some location info.

Classic Hangouts doesn’t use your content for advertising

We don’t use information in apps where you primarily store personal content—including classic Hangouts—for advertising purposes, period.

Learn how Google detects & reports online child sex abuse

Classic Hangouts detects online child sexual abuse under the Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, which provides for a derogation from the confidentiality of communications under Articles 5(1) and 6(1) of the Directive 2002/58/EC for the purpose of combating online child sexual abuse. Google does not allow the use of our services to create, upload, or distribute content that exploits or abuses children. To keep our service safe we use technology (i.e. hash matching) to detect such content. If we find such content, we will take appropriate action, which may include removing the content and disabling accounts. Users whose accounts are disabled are provided with information on available redress avenues if the user disagrees with our decision. Users within the European Union can also lodge a complaint to their country’s relevant data protection authority and they have the right to seek a judicial remedy as laid out in the Regulation 2021/1232. Relevant information, which may include personal information and the violative content, is reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which in turn forwards reports to law enforcement authorities around the world, as appropriate.

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You decide what content is shared & with whom

The content you save on classic Hangouts is private to you, from others, unless you choose to share it. Google respects your privacy. We access your private content only when we have your permission or are required to by law. With the Google Transparency Report, we share data about how the policies and actions of governments and corporations affect privacy, security, and access to information.

It’s easy to view & control your data

With the Google Account Dashboard, you can see an overview of the Google products you use and the things you store, like your emails and photos. And with My Activity, it’s easy to see or delete data collected from your activity across Google services, including things you’ve searched, viewed, and watched. Learn how to view and control activity in your Google Account.

Control your search history

To save you time when you search for help in classic Hangouts by showing your recent searches you’ve made there, we store those help search queries.

To review or manage your classic Hangouts search history, use My Activity.

You can take your data with you

Everyone should have access to the content they’ve shared with us – any time and for any reason. That’s why we created Download Your Data – so you can download your photos, emails, contacts, and bookmarks. It’s your choice to make a copy of your data, back it up, or even move it to another service. You are always in control of the data saved to your Google Account. Learn how to download your data.

support.google.com - How classic Hangouts protects your privacy & keeps you in control