March 15, 2007

Google Announces 18-24 Month Data Retention Period

Google keeps logs of all searches, along with digital identifiers linking them to specific computers and Internet browsers. It said on Wednesday that it would start to make those logs anonymous after 18 to 24 months, making it much harder to connect search records to a person. Under current practices, the company keeps the logs intact indefinitely. “I think it is an absolute disaster for online privacy,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He said that 18 to 24 months was too long, and added that because of Google’s dominant position, it would most likely set a de facto standard for data retention.

Google Adds a Safeguard on Privacy for Searchers, New York Times, March 15, 2007.