Google to make your IP info anonymous?

[zeus]

I have read somewhere that they will soon only keep information about a users IP for 24 hours and not for all time, is that done deal now or what,

[tedster]

I think it's 24 months, not hours:

11 May clarification

We recently announced a new policy to anonymize our server logs after 18–24 months. We’re the only leading search company to have taken this step publicly...

In the U.S., the Department of Justice and others have similarly called for 24-month data retention laws.
At the same time, regulators in other parts of governments have argued for shorter retention periods, reflecting the conflicts in every country between privacy and data protection objectives on the one hand, and law enforcement objectives on the other.

Companies like Google are trying to be responsible corporate citizens, and sometimes we are told to do different things by different government entities, or to follow conflicting legal obligations.

[googleblog.blogspot.com...]

14 Mar - original

When we implement this policy change in the coming months, we will continue to keep server log data (so that we can improve Google's services and protect them from security and other abuses)—but will make this data much more anonymous, so that it can no longer be identified with individual users, after 18-24 months.

[googleblog.blogspot.com...]

Commentary from ZDNet

I asked though, “Will Google searchers be breathing collective sighs of privacy relief three years out?” Not exactly, according to Google itself:

Do these changes guarantee anonymization? It is difficult to guarantee complete anonymization.

In fact, Google users ought not be breathing any sigh of privacy relief, at any time.

[blogs.zdnet.com...]

[edited by: tedster at 5:34 pm (utc) on May 22, 2007]

[wheel]

The AOL debacle makes it clear that the search data itself is non-anoymous. Search terms alone can identify someone, even without the IP address or other info.

It's not anonymous until they wipe the log files.

[zeus]

yes it was maybe 24 month, but then we have not got any further, with this google bigbrother stuff.

[tedster]

As Google explained above, in this case they are being pulled in opposite directions. One is the user's desire to be anonymous - this would include laws in some countries about identity protection and privacy. Opposite to this, many governments are requiring long-term record keeping. And yes, a third factor is Google using the data to work on their results.

I guess they really can't move into definite actions until the situation becomes clear.