Yahoo Will Keep Searchers' Info Only 3 Months

Yahoo will shorten the amount of time it will keep users’ personal data, Stacey Higginbotham reports for GigaOm. The firm will scrub page views, ad views, and search data after 90 days, though it will keep data flagged as suspicious for twice as long. Google and Microsoft recently proposed changes to data-retention times, but Yahoo’s 90-day window goes further than either.

Internet companies are under pressure from consumer groups and governments to tighten online privacy. The EU wants to limit data retention to 6 months. Yahoo, which previously kept user data for 13 months, may be trying to pre-empt pressure from a telecom lobbying group, The Future of Privacy, which hopes to influence emerging national policies on consumers’ digital rights. (More Yahoo stories.)