I’m sure you heard how Google was keeping everyone’s searches for ever and ever. Kinda creepy to think that every time you looked anything up on Google it got filed away in a server room to be there forever. Google held on to your IP address, the terms you searched, and a timestamp on it all. That made it quite the fertile ground for the government (or anyone equipped with the right warrant) to dig through your cyber-trash.

Well that’s all going to change for the better, at least a little bit. The Times Online (UK based) is reporting the following Google announcement:

Peter Fleischer, Google’s European privacy counsel, said that the search engine giant would now “anonymise” data more than “18 to 24 months old”, with the exact date depending on international legal requirements.

So while they aren’t really deleting the information they will at least wipe your identity from it. Then again, considering how things once considered “deleted” find a way to pop back up you may not be any safer. Either way, at least you’re staying informed. So next time you want to search for that incriminating information wait until your cubicle neighbor takes a coffee break and go use his computer.

Here’s a relevant and funny little cartoon about Internet search histories. I found this cartoon at a friend’s page on StumbleUpon.com (great site/system). It’s originally from: xkcd.org - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munr.