Google To Auto Delete User Data Every 18 Months
Google collects users’ data to know all their interests and inclinations. It includes things like location history, browsing details, videos watched on YouTube, etc.
The company originally held the data forever, but back in 2019, it enabled users to auto-delete their web activity after three months or eighteen months. However, the settings was not set by default.
Google will now auto delete user data after every 18 months. This won’t affect existing users, and they will still have to turn on the auto-delete option. That being said, Google promises to send reminders “about the auto-delete controls through in-product notifications and emails.”
As Engadget notes, the mentioned time period is enough for Google to show personalized ads to the users and suggest videos based on their YouTube history.
Apart from this, Google has rolled out an auto-delete user data option for YouTube as well. It will be enabled by default for new users, and their YouTube history will be deleted every 36 months.
Google is also rolling out a feature to quickly jump between incognito mode and regular tabs. A long tap on your profile picture will immediately take you into incognito mode in Google Search, Maps, and YouTube.
As of now, the feature has been launched for the Google app in iOS. It will soon roll-out for Android users as well.
