How Google Uses Cookies
This page describes the purposes of cookies and similar technologies used by Google. It also explains how Google and our partners use cookies in advertising.
Cookies are small text files sent to your browser from the website you visit. These files help the website remember information about your visit, making your next visit easier and allowing you to get more out of the website. Similar technologies can perform the same function, including unique identifiers used to identify an app or device, pixel tags, and local storage. Cookies and similar technologies may be used as described on this page for the specific purposes outlined below.
You can review our Privacy Policy to learn about how we protect your privacy while using cookies and other information.
Purposes of Cookies and Similar Technologies Used by Google
Google may store or use some or all cookies or similar technologies in your browser, app, or device for the purposes described below. To manage how cookies are used, including opting out of their use for specific purposes, you can visit g.co/privacytools. You can also manage cookies in your browser (although mobile device browsers may not allow you to view or manage these cookies). Some of these technologies can be managed in your device’s settings page or within each app’s settings.
Functionality
Cookies and similar technologies used for functional purposes enable access to essential features in a specific service. These cookies are used to deliver and maintain Google services. Elements considered essential to the services include remembering your choices and preferred settings, such as your chosen language, storing information related to your session like the contents of your shopping cart, enabling features or performing tasks you requested, and improving products to help maintain and develop the service.
Some cookies and similar technologies are used to maintain your preferred settings. For example, most users of Google services have a cookie named “NID” or “_Secure-ENID” in their browsers, depending on their cookie-related choices. These cookies are used to remember your preferred settings and other information, such as your preferred language, the number of search results you want displayed per page (e.g., 10 or 20 results), and whether you want Google’s SafeSearch filter enabled. Each “NID” cookie expires 6 months after its last use, while the “_Secure-ENID” cookie remains valid for 13 months. The “VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE” and “__Secure-YEC” cookies serve the same purpose on YouTube and are also used to detect and resolve service issues. These cookies remain valid for 6 months and 13 months, respectively.
Similar technologies and other cookies are used to maintain and enhance your experience during a specific session. For example, YouTube uses the “PREF” cookie to store information such as your preferred page settings and playback settings, including content shuffle, player size, and autoplay options explicitly set by you. These preferred settings in YouTube Music include volume level, repeat mode, and autoplay. This cookie expires 8 months after its last use. The “pm_sess” cookie also helps maintain your browsing session data and expires 30 minutes after its use begins.
Cookies and similar technologies may also be used to improve the performance of Google services. For example, the “CGIC” cookie enhances the display of search results by autocompleting search queries based on the user’s initial input. This cookie remains valid for 6 months.
Google uses the “SOCS” cookie, which remains valid for 13 months, to store a user’s state regarding their cookie-related choices.
Security
Google uses cookies and similar technologies for security purposes to protect you while interacting with a specific service by authenticating users, preventing unwanted content, fraud, and abuse, and tracking service disruptions.
Cookies and similar technologies used for user authentication help ensure that only the account owner can access the account. For example, the “SID” and “HSID” cookies contain digitally signed and encrypted records of a user’s Google Account ID and their most recent login time. By using these two cookies together, Google can counter multiple types of attacks, such as attempts to steal the content of forms sent in Google services. These cookies remain valid for two years.
Some cookies and similar technologies are used to detect unwanted content, fraud, and abuse. For example, the “pm_sess” and “YSC” cookies ensure that requests during a specific browsing session are made by the user and not by other websites. These cookies prevent malicious websites from taking actions on behalf of the user without their knowledge. The “pm_sess” cookie remains valid for 30 minutes, while the “YSC” cookie remains valid for the duration of the user’s browsing session. The “__Secure-YEC” and “AEC” cookies are used to detect unwanted content, fraud, and abuse to ensure that advertisers are not charged for fraudulent or invalid ad impressions or interactions and that YouTube content creators participating in the YouTube Partner Program are fairly compensated. The “AEC” cookie remains valid for 6 months, while the “__Secure-YEC” cookie remains valid for 13 months.
Analytics
Google uses cookies and similar technologies for analytical purposes to understand how you interact with a specific service. These cookies and similar technologies help collect data that enables us to measure audience engagement and website statistics. This helps us understand how services are used, thereby improving their content, quality, and features, while also allowing us to develop and enhance new services.
Some cookies and similar technologies help websites and apps understand how users interact with their services. For example, Google Analytics uses a set of cookies to collect information on behalf of businesses using Google Analytics and to generate reports on website usage statistics without identifying individual visitors. The “_ga” cookie is the primary cookie used by Google Analytics, enabling services to distinguish between visitors’ data, and it remains valid for two years. The “_ga” cookie is used on any website that has Google Analytics enabled, including Google services. Each “_ga” cookie is unique to a specific website and cannot be used to track a user or browser across unrelated websites.
Google services also use the “NID” and “_Secure-ENID” cookies with Google Search, and the “VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE” and “__Secure-YEC” cookies with YouTube, to collect analytics. Google apps compatible with mobile devices may also use unique identifiers, such as the “Google Services Usage ID,” for analytics purposes.
Advertising
Google uses cookies for advertising purposes, including displaying personalized and non-personalized ads and customizing them (based on your settings at myadcenter.google.com and adssettings.google.com/partnerads). These cookies are also used to limit the number of times a specific ad is shown to a user, stop displaying unwanted ads, and measure ad effectiveness.
The “NID” cookie is used to display Google ads in Google services for users who are not signed in, while the “IDE” and “id” cookies are used to display Google ads on non-Google websites. Advertising identifiers on mobile devices, such as the Android Advertising ID (AdID), serve a similar purpose in mobile-compatible apps, depending on your device settings. If personalized ads are enabled, the “IDE” cookie is used to customize the ads shown to you. If personalized ads are disabled, the “id” cookie is used to remember this preference so that personalized ads are not shown. The “NID” cookie expires 6 months after its last use. The “IDE” and “id” cookies remain valid for 13 months in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and for 24 months in other countries and regions.
Based on your account’s ad settings, other Google services, such as YouTube, may also use these cookies for advertising, in addition to other cookies and technologies, such as the “VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE” cookie.
Some cookies and similar technologies used for advertising are specific to users signed in to their accounts to use Google services. For example, the “DSID” cookie is used to identify a signed-in user on non-Google websites to align with the user’s ad personalization settings. The “DSID” cookie remains valid for two weeks.
Through Google’s ad display platform, businesses can display ads on Google services and non-Google websites. Some cookies enable Google to display ads on third-party websites, defined within the scope of the visited website. For example, the “_gads” cookie enables websites to display Google ads. Cookies starting with “_gac_” originate from Google Analytics and are used by advertisers to measure user activity and the performance of their ad campaigns. The “_gads” cookie remains valid for 13 months, and the “_gac_” cookies remain valid for 90 days.
Some cookies and similar technologies are used to measure ad and campaign performance and conversion rates for Google ads on visited websites. For example, cookies starting with “_gcl_” are primarily used to help advertisers determine how many times users take actions on a website, such as making a purchase, after clicking on their ads. Cookies used to measure conversion rates are not used for ad personalization. The “_gcl_” cookies remain valid for 90 days. Similar technologies, such as the Android Advertising ID, can also be used to measure ad and campaign performance. You can manage the Advertising ID settings on your Android device.
You can learn more about cookies used for advertising here.
Personalization
Cookies and similar technologies used for personalized content contribute to enhancing your experience by providing customized content and features, based on your account settings at g.co/privacytools or your app and device settings.
Personalized content and features include more relevant search suggestions and results, a customized YouTube homepage, and ads tailored to your preferences. For example, the “VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE” cookie may enable personalized suggestions on YouTube based on videos you’ve watched and searches you’ve performed. The “NID” cookie enables personalized autocomplete features in Google Search as you type search queries. Both cookies expire 6 months after their last use.
Another cookie, “UULE,” is used to send precise location information from your browser to Google’s servers so that Google Search can display results relevant to your location. The use of this cookie depends on your browser settings and whether you’ve enabled browser location sharing. The “UULE” cookie expires after a maximum of 6 hours.
Non-personalized content and features shown to you may be influenced by contextual factors, such as your location, language, device type, or the content you’re currently viewing, even if you opt out of cookies and similar technologies used for personalization.
Managing Cookies in Your Browser
Most browsers allow you to manage how cookies are set and used while browsing, as well as clear cookies and browsing data. Your browser may also have settings that allow you to manage cookies on a per-website basis. For example, Google Chrome’s settings at chrome://settings/cookies allow you to delete existing cookies, enable or block all cookies, and set preferences for cookies on specific websites. Google Chrome also offers “Incognito mode,” which deletes browsing history and clears cookies from Incognito windows on your device after all Incognito windows are closed.
Managing Similar Technologies in Your Apps and Devices
Most mobile devices and apps allow you to manage how similar technologies, such as unique identifiers used to identify a specific app or device, are set and used. For example, the Advertising ID on Android devices or the Advertising ID on Apple devices can be managed through your device settings, while app-specific identifiers are typically managed through each app’s settings.