(San Francisco) Google has decided to strengthen its privacy settings by automatically deleting, after 18 months, the search history and localization of its new customers, announced Wednesday its CEO Sundar Pichai.
Posted on 25 June 2020 at 6 a.m. 19
France Media Agency
While heavy fines have been imposed on Facebook and Google for privacy breaches in recent years, the American internet giant hopes to boost user confidence by introducing this modification, which will be effective as soon as Wednesday.
“We think products should only keep your information for as long as it is useful to you,” said Pichai in a blog post, adding that it was “keeping less default data ”.
When creating a new Google account, “your activity data will be automatically and continuously deleted after 18 months, instead of be kept until you choose to delete them, “he said.
Current users can already choose to automatically delete their data every three or 18 months, but they will now be reminded of the option.
Smartphone tracking technology has been at the center of attention since the coronavirus pandemic, which prompted governments to develop apps for tracking infected people, raising concerns about privacy and freedoms.
M. Pinchai, who also runs Alphabet, Google’s parent company, said that “privacy is at the heart of everything we do” in his blog post. He detailed other changes, including easier access to app privacy settings and safer “incognito” mode.
New users of YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, will also have their search data automatically deleted after 36 months, said Mr. Pinchai.