All about Google+ TOS "enhancements"

Shared Endorsements

Google makes it easy for you to get great recommendations from your friends. For example, when you visit the Google Play music store, you may see that a friend has +1'd a new album by your favorite artist. When you search for a restaurant, you may see an ad including a 5-star review by another friend.

We call these shared endorsements. Here's what you need to know:

• You're in control: Your content is only shared when you choose, and shared endorsements don't impact who can see your content or activity.
• To help your friends and others find cool stuff online, your activity (such as reviews, +1s, follows, shares, etc.) may be used along with your name and photo in commercial or other promotional contexts.
• When it comes to shared endorsements in ads, you can choose whether your name and photo may be used to help your friends find stuff you love (and avoid stuff you don't) — you can control this with the setting at the bottom of this page.
• The name and photo shown in shared endorsements are the public profile name and photo you have chosen on Google+.

Here are a few examples of shared endorsements on Google. The "Summertime Spas" example below shows a shared endorsement displayed in an ad:

Setting: Shared Endorsements in Ads

This setting below allows you to limit the use of your name and photo in shared endorsements in ads. It applies only to actions that Google displays within ads; the "Summertime Spas" example above shows a shared endorsement appearing in an ad on Google Search. Changing this setting does not impact how your name and photo might look in a shared endorsement that is not in an ad — for example, when you share a music recommendation that is displayed in the Play Store. You can limit the visibility of activity outside of ads by deleting the activity or changing its visibility settings.

Based upon my activity, Google may show my name and profile photo in shared endorsements that appear in ads.

Note:

• Based on your domain's current settings, your name and profile picture will not appear in shared endorsements paired with ads. If your domain administrator changes this in the future, your choice here will be honored.
• If you are under 18, you may see shared endorsements from others but your own name and profile will not be paired with shared endorsements in ads and certain other contexts.