Waze (Google)

Waze and Google Maps are both owned by Google — but Waze's Terms specify ISRAELI LAW and ISRAELI COURTS govern any dispute, while Google Maps uses California law and US courts. Same parent company, two completely different legal systems depending which of its map apps you happen to use, thirteen years after Google bought Waze. On top of that, Waze's own 'Invisible Mode' only hides your car icon from OTHER USERS on the map — it does NOT stop the underlying location data collection itself, which has been reported (not verified this pass) to continue in the background when you're not actively navigating. Academic research has found that only a very small fraction of consumers ever open and read a privacy policy like this one — which is precisely why a jurisdiction clause like this can sit in plain sight for over a decade without most users ever knowing it's there.

• Severity
• Evidence tierUnassigned
• Claims confirmed
• Last verified2026-08-04

Primary source. None recorded — Unverified - heuristic first draft.

Arbitration

Not independently confirmed this pass — standard binding arbitration + class action waiver expected.

Data sharing

Owned by Google since 2013; governed largely by Google's overall privacy framework, though Waze maintains its own separate Terms/Privacy documents. Waze's core feature (crowdsourced, real-time location sharing with other drivers to report traffic/hazards/police locations) inherently involves more granular, real-time location broadcasting than typical mapping apps — not independently confirmed with a specific named lawsuit this pass, but worth flagging as a structurally higher-location-exposure product than Google Maps' more passive navigation model.

Contacts

Privacy contact. Not recorded.

Legal notice. Not verified this pass. If publicly traded: SEC Form 10-K cover page gives the official corporate address; the Secretary of State business-entity search in the state of incorporation gives the registered agent, which must accept service. If private: the state registered agent is usually the only reliable route.

Mailing address. Not recorded.