Google reveals major privacy shake-up, will auto-delete user data
According to a new blog post, Google will now automatically delete users’ search information, location data and voice commands after 18 months has elapsed since capture.
YouTube activity, meanwhile, will be kept on file for 36 months by default, which Google says will ensure viewers are served the most relevant content.
[...] The company’s auto-delete controls have been in place since last year, but will now be turned on by default for new users. Existing Google Account holders, though, will need to manually activate the auto-delete function from with the Activity Controls panel.
[...] The firm also took the opportunity to unveil a host of smaller changes designed to make it easier for users to access privacy controls and improve account security.
[...] Within the coming weeks, Google’s Password Checkup tool will also be integrated into the Security Checkup service, which notifies users of chinks in their security armor. The addition will allow account holders to check whether any of their login credentials have been compromised and safeguard against potential credential-stuffing attacks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 26 2020, @06:31AM
This is so true, consumer memory is short, https://www.msi.org/reports/memory-factors-in-advertising/ [msi.org]this is only one of many studies where marketing is quickly forgotten for distractions or wandering eyeballs.
In some ways 3 or 18 months i overkill, so is probably them seeing less value in maintaining the storage costs. (TLAs will have harvested what they wanted well inside the window also).