Google Ups Privacy By Automatically Deleting Web, App History

Privacy and data security are some of the biggest concerns today with cybercrime spiking every day. In this scenario, Google has announced a couple of new privacy enhancements to keep user data safe. The new policy brings in changes to its data retention practices across the Google platform, which also includes location history.

Google Auto-Delete Feature

As part of the new policies by Google, the location history can be turned on if users wish to. So far, the location history was off by default. Google is also allowing users to auto-delete their history, with a default option set to 18 months.

"This means your activity data will be automatically and continuously deleted after 18 months, rather than kept until you choose to delete it. You can always turn these settings off or change your auto-delete option," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a press statement.

Looking back, Google rolled out the auto-delete controls last year, giving users the choice to automatically and regularly delete their location, search, voice, and even YouTube history. Google notes that users will be regularly reminded about the auto-deletion of history with in-app notifications and emails.

Google Apps Privacy Controls

The same feature comes to YouTube as well. New users or those who turn on YouTube history for the first time will have their data deletion automatically set to 36 months. Existing users have the option to choose for either three months or 18 months. At the same time, the default retention periods do not apply to other Google products like Gmail, Drive, and Photos.

The tech giant is also working on making it easier to access account controls from Google Search. Users will be able to see 'Google Privacy Checkup' and 'Is my Google Account secure?' options to easily check and review their privacy and security settings. Speaking of Google Search, the incognito mode will have better access to Google apps like Maps, YouTube, and so on.

Will Google Privacy Settings Help?

Google notes that over 200 million people visit the Privacy Checkup. "More than 100 million people have used Password Checkup, and they've seen a 30 percent reduction in breached credentials," Pichai added. User data is misused, sold to third parties without consent, which further leads to privacy concerns. In this context, the Google auto-delete option will certainly help as user history will be removed regularly.