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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Microsoft to delete Bing users' IP addresses after 6 months

Microsoft will eliminate all data collected on Bing users after six months. They say they would reduce the amount of time it stores IP addresses from searchers from 18 months to six months before deleting them.

Currently, Bing takes search data and separates the user's account information (such as e-mail or phone number) from the non-personal information (such as what the query was) and only after 18 months does Microsoft take the additional step of deleting the IP address and any other cross session IDs associated with the query.

The change will be implemented over the next 12 to 18 months. The aim is to satisfy the European advisory group, which has been critical of how search engines collect and retain data on individuals for advertising purposes.

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