Google Will Start Permanently Deleting User Location History
Google will delete all information it knows about places the user has visited before. (cyberthreat)
Search engine company Google will delete all the information it knows about the places users have previously visited, after a yearlong commitment to reducing the amount of personal data it holds about users.
The company's "Timeline" feature (formerly known as "Location History") will still work for those who want to use it. This allows them to trace back decades of travel history and see where they have been at any given time.
However, all data required for this feature to work will be stored locally on the phone or tablet and never stored on the company's (Google) servers. In an email the company sent to Maps users, Google said they must save all old trips by December 1 before they are permanently deleted. Users can back up their data even if they are worried about losing it or want to keep it synced across devices. However, this is no longer the case by default.
The company has also reduced the default retention period for location history. Removal of the previous location will begin in just three months, compared with the previous one and a half years.
In a blog post announcing the change, Google didn't provide specific details about the update, except to say that users might want to remove information from their location history if they're "planning a surprise birthday party."
Google also wrote "Your location information is private. We are committed to keeping your data secure, private and under your control. Remember that Google Maps will never sell your data to anyone, including advertisers."
Meanwhile, the company is under immense pressure to help users maintain location privacy amid aggressive law enforcement efforts to weaponize stored information.
For example, “Network” monitoring requests force Google to release information about all users in a certain area at a certain time, including crime-related information in addition to GPS signal pings. The dispute arose after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, which guaranteed Americans the right to abortion. The company seeks to remove information related to searches for abortion clinics to protect women from crimes based on their browsing history.
However, later that year it was discovered that the company's location history still held enough information about a researcher's movements to determine exactly which Planned Parenthood branches they visited and when they visited. It even marks locations with pi, although not in an explicit way. (The Guardian/Z-3)