Google Account
Art. 18B, Subchapter H — Gmail / Drive / Android / Location History
Part of the Warrant Path template library. Templates last updated 2026-09-20 — what that date does and doesn’t mean.
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Compels Google, LLC to produce all content tied to a specified Google account over a defined date range — account/contact info, Android device links, Gmail, Drive/Docs, messaging, browsing history, and wearable/vehicle-integration data (Wear OS, Android Auto). Note: since Google's December 2023 rollout of on-device Timeline storage, Google itself often cannot produce historical Location History — see below.
Property / data categories
- Contact/account identification — name, user ID, birth date, emails, address, phone numbers
- Photos/videos uploaded by the user, with EXIF data, upload IP, and uploading device's make/model/IMEI-MEID
- Android device identifiers (make, model, IMEI/MEID) associated with the account
- Location History/Timeline — GPS, cell-tower triangulation, and Wi-Fi-derived location data with timestamps, IF Google still holds it (see specialWarning: Google shifted this to on-device, end-to-end-encrypted storage in 2023-2024 and often cannot produce it server-side anymore)
- Gmail content — inbox, sent, drafts, trash, and attachments, with routing metadata
- Google Drive files and Docs/Sheets/Slides/Keep content
- Search terms and browsing history, plus messaging/video-chat (Meet/Duo/Hangouts, SMS/MMS/RCS) records
- Android Auto data (recorded audio, host-vehicle info, precise location) and Wear OS data (location, heart rate, steps, biometric data)
Controlling authority
- Art. 18B.354(b) — Affidavit must show a specific offense and that the data sought is evidence of it, held by Google.
- Art. 18B.354(c) — Only the electronic customer data described in the affidavit may be seized.
- Art. 18B.351–.359 (Subchapter H) — Texas analog to the federal Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2703.
- Art. 18B.355(a) & 18B.356 — 11-day execution deadline and 15-business-day provider compliance deadline.
- Art. 18B.357 — Custodian authentication affidavit requirement.
Common defects to check for before filing
- Overbreadth — the (a)–(q) list covers everything from Gmail content to Wear OS heart-rate data and Android Auto vehicle-hardware info; most cases don't need all 17 categories
- Requesting Location History or Android Auto data without case-specific facts to satisfy Carpenter
- Assuming Google can still produce historical Location History/Timeline data server-side — since Google's December 2023-2024 rollout, that data is primarily stored on-device with end-to-end-encrypted optional cloud backups Google cannot decrypt; a device-extraction warrant is often the only way to get it now
- Naming the wrong account identifier — compliance is keyed to the actual account (usually recovery/primary email), not an assumed username
- Skipping the custodian-authentication request, risking a live-witness requirement at trial
- Stale provider details — Google's law-enforcement request portal and legal process guidelines are updated periodically
Google, LLC — service notes
- Where: Google's Law Enforcement Request System (LERS) at lers.google.com — confirm the current portal/address before relying on a saved copy from a prior case. lers.google.com
- Address: 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043
- What it takes: The actual Google account identifier (usually the recovery or primary email, not just an apparent username); a custodian authentication affidavit is separately requested from Google.
- Timing: 11-day execution deadline from issuance (Art. 18B.355(a)); 15-business-day provider compliance deadline (Art. 18B.356).
- Notice: Google has a policy of notifying customers upon receipt of legal process; this warrant requests an Order of Non-Disclosure (Art. 18B.501) barring Google from telling the subscriber about the warrant until further court order.
The (a)-(q) property list is unusually broad — 17 categories including Wear OS biometric data and Android Auto vehicle-hardware information — and overbreadth here is one of the more common grounds for a suppression challenge; strike categories your case facts don't support rather than requesting the full list by default. Separately: beginning in December 2023 and rolling out through 2024, Google moved Maps Timeline/Location History to be saved primarily on the user's own device, with optional cloud backups end-to-end encrypted so that Google itself cannot read them. As a result, Google frequently has little or no server-side Location History to produce in response to this warrant, even for accounts that used the feature. If the case depends on historical location data, plan on a device-extraction warrant (see the Cellphone / Wireless Device template) rather than relying on category (d) below.
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