Google has been obliged to improve its transparency around its privacy policy following intervention from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The data regulator ruled that the search engine’s revised policy from March 2012 did not adequately explain how and why users’ data was being collected and used, and demanded Google update it to comply with the Data Protection Act.
Steve Eckersley, head of enforcement at the ICO, said: "Whilst our investigation concluded that this case hasn’t resulted in substantial damage and distress to consumers, it is still important for organisations to properly understand the impact of their actions and the requirement to comply with data protection law.
"It is vital that there is clear and effective information available to enable users to understand the implications of their data being combined. The detailed agreement Google has signed setting out its commitments will ensure that."
The ICO worked with other European data regulators to investigate the search engine, which is facing increased scrutiny over its position in the search and advertising markets.
Last year Google was at the centre of the controversy over the "right to be forgotten", and is also facing allegations that it has abused its position in online advertising and news aggregation.
The search engine is currently facing down demands from the EU to remove links to content affected by the right to be forgotten from its Google.com domain, which is still accessible from within the union.
