They keep that as long as it's useful. At some point they're going to have to start removing old data there as well, but it's probably mostly text and numbers. This is just pure whataboutism. Explain to me how keeping a ton of data forever is in any way realistic? How would you go about doing that?
Why does any organization keep 90% of the data that they have. It's all a liability. Either they are required to keep it by law, or they are making money selling it or mining it for others.
They will probably put it in some archive where they delete it after 10 years. Or they keep it somewhere on a drive where it could be accessed but will never be, since no one has a reason to use the data.
Why is the minimum lifetime of data set to 3 months? Is it because 3 months sounds like a reasonable period of time for users to look back at their usage or is it because Google needs 3 months to process the data, for marketing or other money making purposes?
The reality is whether they keep the data for 3 months or 18 months doesn't mean anything. It just gives you the illusion that they no longer use your data. I find it hard to believe there's good intentions behind this (other than deleting data AFTER it's used).
Well that's easy: They guarantee they will store and use all the data forever, and they guarantee they will lie to both you and the authorities about what they have used it for and whether it has been deleted.
Wouldn't that depend on what they use this data for, what it is, and whether they keep it regardless of taking the file down if requested ? ( GDPR, etc. )
Is there away to prove the data is actually deleted? It's not really gone forever is it, just removed from the search index. Other copies will have been made by various agencies. I suppose for most purposes thats ok, but not all.
Probably not. As others have said, some of it is more or less legally required. What I don't understand is why they need to (or should be allowed to) retain that data in perpetuity.
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