New York – Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) announced last week that it will reverse
its stance on consumer data retention, and starting this summer will store user
search query data for 18 months, instead of its current policy of 90 days, The
New York Times reports.
"Over the last three years, the way we and other
companies offer services online and the way consumers experience the Internet
has changed dramatically," said Anne Toth, Yahoo’s chief trust officer.
"So, we will keep our log file data longer than we have been — offering
consumers a more robust individualized experience — while we continue our
innovation in the areas of transparency and choice to protect privacy."
By
comparison, Google retains consumer data for nine months, while Microsoft
deletes data after six months.
The Times notes that Yahoo’s new policy
conflicts with European Union rules that require search engines to purge
consumer data after six months.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3czv6pj
(N.Y. Times)
