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Google scooped up sensitive data such as passwords when putting together its Street View service, suggests an early look at the information. The examination was carried out by French data protection agency CNIL as it decides whether to prosecute the search firm for gathering the data.
The data was gathered as Google logged wi-fi hotspots to help it develop location-based services.
Previously, Google said there was "no harm, no foul" in collecting the data. CNIL, like many other data protection agencies worldwide, asked Google to hand over copies of the data it gathered to find out if privacy laws had been breached.
CNIL chairman Alex Turk said Google handed the data to the agency on 4 June following an official request and it was now in the process of combing through the reams of information.
Talking to reporters as CNIL unveiled its annual report, Mr Turk said the early look showed the presence of "data that are normally covered by... banking and medical privacy rules".
Tech news site IDG reported that CNIL had spotted passwords for e-mail services and chunks of text from messages in its first glance at the data.
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