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Use of Location Information

Here, please find the details on how we use the location information of our customers.

Use of Location Information

When using location information

Yahoo! JAPAN uses the acquired location information to provide Services* to study improvements and new Services, and to investigate and analyze the usage of Services.

　　 　　
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Yahoo! JAPAN acquires and uses the following location information from applications that have been allowed to send location information using the device's functions.

  • GPS location information
  • Information on Wi-Fi access points and signal strength around the device
  • Identification information of the connected Bluetooth-enabled device (if the user is not connected to a Bluetooth-enabled device, the identification information will not be used)

In addition to the location information described above, the following information may be used as supplementary information to improve accuracy.

  • Information on address related to stores in which offline payments were made

* Services, products, advertisements and contents are hereinafter collectively referred to as "Services". Services include services, products, advertisements or contents towards partners and customers other than the customer him/herself.

Examples of how our apps use location information

In addition to cases where location information is essential for providing Services such as route guidance in Yahoo! JAPAN Car Navigation, we will use location information in order to provide customers with more comfortable services. Please see below for specific examples of use by applications.

　　 　　
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Yahoo! JAPAN

If there is a possibility of a disaster occurring in the current location of the customers, customers will be able to receive information in a timely manner even if the app is not activated.

Yahoo! Transit Navigation

When the customer activates the app to search routes, Yahoo! Transit Navigation displays train stations and bus stops closest to the current location of the customer in the app.

Yahoo! Weather

Customers can check the weather of their current location. Notification will be made if there are nearing rain clouds.

Yahoo! Car Navigation, Yahoo! MAP

Displays current location and provides route navigation. Yahoo! MAP also provides notification on nearing rain clouds and crime-related information.

Yahoo! Disaster Alert

Yahoo! Disaster Alert sends notification for the current location, such as emergency earthquake alert, J-alert (nationwide warning system), and disaster-related alerts (torrential rain forecast, tsunami forecast, etc.)

Examples of location information use by smart speakers

Yahoo! JAPAN Weather & Disaster

By linking to external smart speakers and other devices, customers can receive advice on whether or not to bring an umbrella based on the forecast for the areas that they frequently visit.

　　 　　

Provision of congestion information

The location information collected with customers' consent from apps such as Yahoo! JAPAN and Yahoo! JAPAN MAP is statistically analyzed to determine the congestion in each area.

Congestion information is provided to the customers as "congestion status around facilities" in the search results, and "congestion radar," a function that allows customers to check the congestion level in locations and around terminal stations. The "congestion radar" is available both in Yahoo! JAPAN MAP (app) and Yahoo! JAPAN Maps (web version).

　　 　　

Display of advertisements

In order to display appropriate advertisements that meet the needs of individual customers, Yahoo! JAPAN uses information on customer's area of domicile, gender, month and year of birth, etc. Also, Yahoo! JAPAN analyzes customers' use history of Services and information provided, and uses the information on customers' interest estimated by Yahoo! JAPAN using its own standards.

　　 　　
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The customers' use history of Services include information such as search key words, browsed webpages, apps used, items purchased, location information, etc. In addition, Yahoo! JAPAN may use information from multiple environments (devices, apps, browsers, etc.).

For more information on behavioral targeting advertising, please refer to the following.

Provision of statistical report on location information

Based on location information acquired in apps such as Yahoo! JAPAN, Yahoo! Disaster Alert, Yahoo! Car Navigation, Yahoo! MAP, etc., we create and provide statistical reports such as aggregate results which are anonymized to the extent that individuals cannot be identified.

　　 　　
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Statistical reports on location information are provided for the following purposes:

  • For institutions that manage facilities and roads to prevent or reduce disasters, and to formulate measures on congestions, etc.
  • For local authorities to use for city planning
  • For managers of tourist spots and operators of commercial facilities and stores to understand visitor traits and visits by those who browsed the ads and use them for effective promotions.

Improvement of map information and provision of congestion information

In apps that receive technologies from partner companies, if the setting in the customer's device is "on" for sending location information, the location information of the device may be sent to the partner company.

　　 　　
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Please see the following for information on partner companies that will acquire location information. The acquired location information will be used based on the privacy policies of the partner companies.

Mapbox

Apps: Yahoo! JAPAN, Yahoo! JAPAN MAP, Yahoo! JAPAN Weather, Yahoo! JAPAN Car Navigation, Yahoo! JAPAN Transit Navigation, Yahoo! JAPAN Real Estate
Purpose: Improvement of map information, provision of congestion information

IndoorAtlas

App: Yahoo! JAPAN MAP
Purpose: Display of current indoor location, improvement of services of IndoorAtlas

Use of statistical data in companies and local governments

In Yahoo! JAPAN's data solution business, companies and governments utilize statistical data that has been created based on customer data and anonymized to the extent that individuals cannot be identified.

　　 　　
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For example, the results of analyses such as how much a certain topic is searched or how many people gather in a certain area, can be used to make the customer's life more convenient.

When Yahoo! JAPAN creates statistical data, it takes the utmost care to protect the customers' privacy so that they cannot be identified through analysis by third parties.

For more details on our data solution business, please refer to "Yahoo! JAPAN Data Solution - To our individual customers" (Japanese only).

Improvement of communication environment

Yahoo! JAPAN may provide information on the customers' use environment to mobile phone operators as reference data for improving the communication environment and making announcements on the improvements.

　　 　　
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Apps from which information is collected

  • Yahoo! JAPAN Disaster Alert
  • Yahoo! JAPAN Car Navigation
  • Yahoo! JAPAN MAP
  • Yahoo! JAPAN Weather
  • Yahoo! JAPAN Transit Navigation

Information provided

  • Location information (including GPS information), communication status, etc.

*In each case, personal information is not included in the information provided, and the information is processed and provided in a form that does not focus on a specific individual customer.

Setting of location information

Depending on their preferences, customers can change the setting of their location information. For details, please refer to the following:

　　 　　
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There are two ways of setting location information.

  • Please refer to our "Help page (Japanese only)" for selecting "on" or "off" for location information setting linked with your app.
  • Please turn "on" or "off" in "Transmission setting of location information (Japanese only)" to allow/disallow the use of location information in multiple Services of Yahoo! JAPAN. The Services will use the information for providing congestion information and optimizing ad content, etc. Even if you have selected "off" for "Transmission setting of location information," if you have allowed "Use of location information in this app," location information will be used only in that app. Also, there is a possibility that we will use data transmitted in the past for a certain period, even after you have turned off the "Transmission setting of location information."

Please select "on" or "off" for allowing/disallowing Mapbox, Inc. to access location information, from "i" located on the lower left of the map.