Google cuts time it retains IP address logs to 9 months

Change comes in response to concerns raised by regulators in U.S., Europe

By Paul Meller

September 9, 2008 12:00 PM ET

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IDG News Service - Google Inc. will halve the length of time it holds data linking surfers' IP addresses to their Web searches.

The move comes in response to regulators' concerns, especially in Europe and the U.S., the company said in a blog post late on Monday.

The search company's new data retention policy is to render the IP addresses in its server logs anonymous after nine months, instead of waiting 18 months as it has until now. The company said the move is "another step to improve privacy for our users."

Google's global privacy counsel, Peter Fleischer, will explain the move further in a conference call with the European press later today.

In June 2007, Google reduced the length of time it stores about users' data to 18 months.

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

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