Yahoo Will Keep Searchers' Info Only 3 Months

Search firm now holds information for less time than Google, Microsoft
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 17, 2008 3:38 PM CST
Yahoo Will Keep Searchers' Info Only 3 Months
Google and other search companies are under ever-greater pressure to give users more privacy.   (AP Photo)

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.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X