Data and security

At our data centers, we take security very seriously. We keep your data safe and secure by using dozens of critical security features.

We've designed our data centers with security in mind.

Security is part of our data centers' DNA. We build custom servers exclusively for our data centers, never selling or distributing them externally. We've also designed them so they don’t include unnecessary hardware or software — reducing the number of potential vulnerabilities.

We also have robust disaster recovery measures in place. For example, in the event of a fire or any other disruption, we shift data access automatically and seamlessly to another data center so that our users can keep working, uninterrupted. Our emergency backup generators continue to power our data centers even in the event of a power failure.

We safeguard your data.

Rather than storing each user's data on a single machine or set of machines, we distribute all data — including our own — across many computers in different locations. We then chunk and replicate the data over multiple systems to avoid a single point of failure. We randomly name these data chunks as an extra measure of security, making them unreadable to the human eye.

While you work, our servers automatically back up your critical data. So when accidents happen — if your computer crashes or gets stolen — you can be up and running again in seconds.

Lastly, we rigorously track the location and status of each hard drive in our data centers. We destroy hard drives that have reached the end of their lives in a thorough, multi-step process to prevent access to the data.

Our security team is on-duty 24x7.

Our full-time Information Security Team maintains the company’s perimeter defense systems, develops security review processes, and builds our customized security infrastructure. It also plays a key role in developing and implementing Google’s security policies and standards.

At the data centers themselves, we have access controls, guards, video surveillance, and perimeter fencing to physically protect the sites at all times.

Learn more in our Google Data Center Security video or Security Whitepaper (PDF).