Microsoft Changes Bing Data Retention Policy
Today Microsoft announced the data retention policy of their search engine, Bing, will now be limited to six months to comply with new EU regulation. Previously, Bing stored search queries for 18 months.
According to Peter Cullen, Microsoft’s Chief Privacy Strategist:
This change is the result of a number of factors including a continuing evaluation of our business needs, the current competitive landscape and our ongoing dialogue with privacy advocates, consumer groups, and regulators – including the Article 29 Working Party, the group of 27 European national data protection regulators charged with providing advice to the European Commission and other EU institutions on data protection.
Microsoft’s new policy will entirely delete IP addresses associated with a search query at 6 months, however it will be rolled out over the next 12-18 months.