Google is going to start deleting any data that connects people to their search histories after 18-24 months in a move to increase user privacy. This should make showdowns with the government over releasing user data more cut and dry, as they can't release anything that they've deleted.

Of course, one could ask why Google needs to hang on to identifying data for two years before deleting it — why not just delete it immediately? But hey, we'll take what we can get, and this is certainly a step in a good direction. –Adam Frucci

Official Google Blog [via Boing Boing]

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