Fact Check: Inspecting claim Israel controls Waze, surveil app's users

Claim:

The Waze terms of use say Israeli courts and laws govern the navigation app's service and terms, the Israeli government secretly uses the app to surveil users and former Israel Defense Forces members founded the app.

Rating:

What's True:

It's true that Waze, founded in Israel in 2008 and acquired by Google in 2013, includes terms of use that reference Israeli courts and laws governing the app's legal matters. Waze's co-founders also reportedly served in the Israeli military. However ...

What's Undetermined:

... no credible evidence confirmed or debunked the claim that Israel's government, its military or Israeli officials use the app to surveil its users.

In July 2026, social media users claimed the Waze navigation app has ties to the Israeli government that compromise users' privacy. As support, users pointed to Waze's terms of use, claiming they state that Israeli courts and law govern the app's terms and service. They further alleged that Israel's government secretly uses the app to surveil users and that former members of the country's military founded the app.

For example, on July 9, a TikTok user posted ( archived ) a video claiming Waze's terms of use mention Israeli courts and laws, specifically Tel Aviv courts. The user spoke about Flock , a technology company known for making license plate readers and other products. They also pointed out that Waze's terms of use mention Israel, saying, "So I was right about the surveillance state. They do be surveilling."

Other people shared the rumor, or parts of it, on Bluesky ( archived ), Facebook ( archived ), Instagram ( archived ), Threads ( archived ) and X ( archived ). Some posts specifically alleged that former members of the Israeli military co-founded the app.

In sum, Waze — which was founded in Israel in 2008 and acquired by Google in 2013 —  specifies in its terms of use that Israeli courts and laws govern the app's legal matters. Uri Levine, Ehud Shabtai and Amir Shinar , who reportedly served in the Israeli military, co-founded Waze in 2008.

However, no credible, publicly available evidence confirmed or debunked the claim that Israel's government, military or other Israeli officials secretly use Waze to surveil the app's users. As such, we've rated this claim a mixture of true and undetermined information.

In an email to Snopes, a Google spokesperson denied claims that Waze shares data for surveillance purposes, calling them "completely false." The spokesperson added:

We operate under strict privacy policies that protect user data and comply with established legal data protection standards. It is standard industry practice for an app's Terms of Service to say that disputes will be handled by courts in the country where the app developer is headquartered. Waze's Terms of Service have reflected this since 2008.

We will update this article if we receive further clarifying information.

What the Waze terms of use say

The Waze terms of use feature the section about Israeli courts and laws that social media users highlighted:

GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

These Terms will be governed solely by the laws of the State of Israel, without giving effect to any conflicts of law principles. Any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of, connected with or relating to these Terms and the Service, will be under the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent court in the Tel Aviv district in Israel.

Other parts of the terms identify Waze as "a company incorporated and operating under the laws of Israel," and a service protected at least in part by Israeli copyright law. The terms also identify a high-rise building in Tel Aviv as the mailing address for Waze Mobile Ltd.

Some users' posts suggested that Google or Waze quietly added references to Israel to the latest terms of use update on July 8, 2026. However, an archived page confirmed that Waze's terms have referred to Israeli courts and laws since its founding in 2008. Waze's creation followed the development of the FreeMap Israel app in 2006.

Searches for the terms "Waze" and "Israel" located a 2016 BBC article reporting that Israeli troops who used Waze for navigation directions mistakenly drove into a Palestinian refugee camp. At the time, a Waze spokesperson explained the soldiers had disabled a safety feature that would have prevented Israeli people from driving through potentially dangerous areas.

For further reading, we previously investigated whether Waze donated to U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration and White House ballroom project.

Sources:

Conybeare, Will. "Flock Safety Says LAPD Halting the Use of Their License Plate Readers Was a 'Surprise' ." KTLA , 13 July 2026, https://ktla.com/news/local-news/flock-safety-says-lapd-halting-the-use-of-their-license-plate-readers-was-a-surprise/ .

Licht, Yossi. "Famous Individuals Who Served in the IDF." WIN , 24 July 2025, https://worldisraelnews.com/famous-individuals-who-served-in-the-idf/ .

Rushe, Dominic. "Google Buys Waze Map App for $1.3bn." The Guardian , 11 June 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jun/11/google-buys-waze-maps-billion .

Solomon, Shoshanna. "Waze Co-Founder Uri Levine Has Written the Book on Startups Navigating Crises – Literally." The Times of Israel , 16 Mar. 2025, https://www.timesofisrael.com/waze-co-founder-uri-levine-has-written-the-book-on-startups-navigating-crises-literally/ .

Suss, Gavin. "The Role of IDF and the Israeli Military Industry in the Technological and Economic Development of Israel." College of Management Academic Studies, Israel, 22 Jan. 2025, https://kiecon.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Gavin-Suss-Role-of-IDF-in-Israel-Tech-Econimic-Development.pdf .

"Terms of Use." Waze Help , https://support.google.com/waze/answer/12373727 .

"Traffic app Waze denies misdirecting Israeli troops." BBC News , 1 March 2016, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35694887 .

"Waze." OpenStreetMap Wiki , https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Waze .