Paris (AFP)

Google will default to deleting location and web browsing data after 18 months for all new users, the boss of the American giant Sundar Pichai announced on Wednesday in a blog post.

From Wednesday, all Google users activating for the first time the history of positions will benefit by default from an automatic deletion of these after 18 months, said Mr. Pichai.

Similarly, for all new Google users from Wednesday, web browsing history data will also be deleted by default after 18 months.

For those who are already Google users, "we will not change your settings", but "we will actively remind you of the automatic removal controls available to you via in-product notifications and emails, so that you can choose the setting automatic deletion that's right for you, "says Sundar Pichai.

American internet giants have been confronted for several years with a growing awareness among internet users of the extent of the data accumulated on them for the purpose of advertising targeting.

Search engines like DuckDuckGo or Qwant in France for example have built their business model on the fact that they do not keep user requests, without however worrying Google, which remains arch-dominant in this market.

In his post, Sundar Pichai mentions other details made by Google to coax suspicious Internet users.

On YouTube, the automatic deletion of data (on videos watched for example) will be "set to 36 months by default if you create a new account or activate your YouTube history for the first time", according to the boss of Google.

Current users "can always choose the automatic removal option for 3 or 18 months," he said.

Google will also "facilitate" access to "private browsing" mode on its search engine and its Maps and YouTube products, by allowing it to be triggered by a long press on the user's profile photo.

© 2020 AFP