What was Google’s informal corporate motto before Alphabet’s 2015 restructuring?

Google’s informal corporate motto before Alphabet’s 2015 restructuring was “Don’t be evil.”

The phrase became closely associated with Google during its early growth and was included in the company’s code of conduct. It expressed an aspiration that Google’s products and business decisions should avoid deliberately harmful behavior, even as the company expanded its advertising business and influence over online information.

When Google reorganized under the Alphabet holding company in 2015, Alphabet adopted the phrase “Do the right thing” in its code of conduct. Google’s code later retained “Don’t be evil” in a modified form, so the wording and its formal status have changed over time.

The motto is often confused with “Move fast and break things,” which was associated with Facebook, and “Think different,” Apple’s advertising slogan. “Don’t be evil” was a Google phrase, not the name of a product or a legal corporate mission statement.