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Google Chrome Privacy The Internet

Google Says It Will Keep Less Browser History and Location Data By Default (nbcnews.com) 36

Posted by BeauHD from the welcomed-changes dept.
Google said Wednesday it was changing the defaults on its services in an effort to store less browser history and location data on its servers. NBC News reports: Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post that the first time a person turns on location history, the default option would be for the data to be stored for 18 months. Activity from the web and from apps would also default to 18 months for new accounts, he said. "This means your activity data will be automatically and continuously deleted after 18 months, rather than kept until you choose to delete it," Pichai said. There will be no automatic change for existing accounts and people who already have location history turned on in their Google settings, but the company plans to inform existing users of the option to set up auto-delete after three to 18 months, he said. People also have the option to turn the setting off.
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Google Says It Will Keep Less Browser History and Location Data By Default More

Google Says It Will Keep Less Browser History and Location Data By Default

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  • That's some effort! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by chrism238 ( 657741 ) on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @04:01PM (#60223686)
    Just wow; such an effort to only store a default of 18 months of data! Why can't the default be zero months, and then let the user decide how many months to add?

    • It can't be zero: Google needs at least a few seconds to siphon it all off before deleting it from your hard drive.

    • It probably has nothing to do with 1 month old data being valuable and 18 month old data being a worthless waste of space.

    • Because:
      1. They'd make less money off your data that way
      2. They can't suck up to the U.S. DOJ unless they can produce your data on (warrantless) demand, like good little doggies

    • Old stuff doesn't have much value to them. They have extracted your profile already and they can only make money selling ads that are relevant to your next purchase which requires fresh data.

    • Just wow; such an effort to only store a default of 18 months of data! Why can't the default be zero months, and then let the user decide how many months to add?

      The default is zero months: Location history defaults to off. You have to manually turn it on if you want Google to keep a history of your location.

      Also, note that "location services" is the switch that enables your phone to use GPS, network, Wifi and bluetooth signals to figure out your location, so Maps works, etc. This is not the same thing as "location history" which is, as the name implies, the history of your locations.

      Personally, I llke location history. I have an almost-uninterrupted minute-by

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by khchung ( 462899 )

      Do you actually believe Google will really delete any of your data and not just hide it from your view? Or just move it to a different storage?

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        I'm sure they will delete MY data because I live in the EU and if they don't the fine will be astronomical.

        People living elsewhere... Well, you might benefit from our privacy laws simply because the system they build for us will likely be deployed everywhere.

      • Do you actually believe Google will really delete any of your data and not just hide it from your view?

        Yes, I do. But I have the advantage of knowing some of the people who build the storage (and deletion) infrastructure, and visibility into how the system works. To be clear, it isn't so much your data that gets deleted as the encryption keys which encrypt your data are deleted. Tracking down copies of data in backups, etc., is way too hard. Securely wiping the encryption keys is much easier, and just as effective.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Just wow; such an effort to only store a default of 18 months of data!
      Why can't the default be zero months, and then let the user decide how many months to add?

      Actually, the GDPR would make that the only legal option.

  • Less? how about you keep NONE by default.

    • Less? how about you keep NONE by default.

      Afaik location history isn't on by default and that's what the article says. The question here is when you switch it on, for how long is the default time.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Pascoea ( 968200 )
      How else do you expect them to pay people to develop the application you rely on? Or should it just be free (as in beer) because, reasons? I don't want to come across as defending Google for their 180-degree flip from "do no evil", but they do provide an application and service for free. And you aren't required to use any of it.
      • We all probably wouldn't mind so much if (a) they actually asked peoples' permission first, and (b) didn't use it for evil purposes, and (c) didn't just hand it over to law enforcement like good little doggies. Google isn't trustworthy.
      • how about they give me a fucking choice. Pay with cash or pay by being anally reemed data wise. FYI I would happily pay a fee for services rather than them monetizing my data.
    • Just don't use Google software and avoid using Google services as much as possible. Also try installing TrackMeNot in your browser to poison search histories on their end.
  • a whole 18 months, glad they're on our side

  • Would you really trust a privacy rapist [urbandictionary.com] like Google whose business model depends on data to keep its promise that they "keep less browser history"?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      It is a good rule of thumb to never trust a large organization of any kind, same as any powerful individual.

  • something open source something fork something

  • How I read it (Score:3)

    by fibonacci8 ( 260615 ) on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @05:14PM (#60224000)
    Turns out we didn't need all that much information to personally identify you to sell ads this entire time.
    We can save some disk space and pretend we're respecting you by storing your information for a shorter amount of time.
  • Are we now allowed to carry on worshiping you, you bastards^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H?

  • Firefox (Score:2)

    by tsa ( 15680 )

    Thank you Mozilla, for keeping making the best browser better.

  • My last tendril is my Gmail address. What seemed so cool, and invite only, in the mid 2000s when they were "do no evil" is now just creepy. Power corrupting absolutely and all.

  • Yeah, no - last time I checked, you CAN'T actually turn this stuff off. Even ignoring the fact that we all know all this bullshit should be opt-IN in the first place, Google interprets "turning tracking off" as "Okay, we'll still RECORD it all, we just won't SHOW you it". It's basically just the equivalent of Private Browsing mode when your ISP is logging every HTTP request you make and there's no such thing as HTTPS.

    The only case I can think of where this "option" has value is that, for example, your SO w

  • They'll grab your browser history and associate it with your account. No joke.

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