Google reduces data retention period.

In an effort to quell recent criticism from privacy watchdogs and the European Union, Google announced it would reduce the length of time it retains web users' search histories to 18 months rather than 24 months.

In a letter addressed to an EU privacy group, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Group, Google said search information will now be made anonymous after a year and a half. The information, which is gathered every time Google's search engine is used, reveals the searcher's search terms, site visits, and more. Google shares general information on search trends, but said it does not release this personal information outside the company.

"We believe we can still address our legitimate interests in security, innovation, and antifraud efforts with this shorter period," Peter FMscher, Google's global privacy counsel, wrote in the letter. He added that the company would "firmly reject" a shorter retention period.

Google has argued that keeping search records improves search engine performance and helps fight spam.

Google announced its new data retention policy just days after Privacy International, a London-based advocacy group, gave Google the lowest privacy protection rating of all major Internet sites. It said Google accounted for 96 percent of the 2,000 complaints it received in 2006.

Fleischer wrote in the letter that Google is committed to following U.S. law and EU data protection principles, however, there are many gray areas related to privacy matters in the United States and EU countries. For example, the European Union Data Directive, effective September 1, 2007, will require telecommunication firms and Internet service providers to retain traffic data on users for up to two years. However, the law does not stipulate whether the same limits should apply to content providers or search engines, and some EU member nations have their own rules for data retention. Google said it may have to revise its retention policies in the future to meet U.S. requirements.

Despite Google's concession, the issue isn't over. The European privacy group still is weighing whether Google's practices have violated European privacy laws. EU lawmakers remain concerned about cookies, which track the websites users visit as well as their system preferences. Privacy groups say Google's cookies remain in force for about 30 years, a time period they believe is unnecessarily long. Google says it is working to redesign cookies so they expire sooner without forcing users to repeatedly input basic information such as language preferences.

In the meantime, according to the Associated Press, the EU will begin looking into all Internet search engines' privacy policies, after the bloc's data privacy adviser widened his Google probe in late July. The EU's panel of national data protection officers said the length of time that search engines store data for Internet server logs was becoming a critical issue.