re: Methods Matter for Protecting Privacy Online

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:23:53 GMT

Dirk raises some important points regarding the retention of an IP address in association with search results. An IP address is unique to a particular computer at a particular point in time. And while it does not identify an individual user of that computer in as direct a way as, say, a name or an email address, there is little doubt that collecting an IP address does have privacy implications. It’s these privacy implications that led to our decision to employ a strong method of anonymization that involves completely deleting the IP address after 18 months. Other major search engines delete only part of the IP address, and retain most of it indefinitely. Dirk suggests that during the period that we retain the IP address, our online privacy policy is non-existent. On the contrary, this is precisely when our online privacy policy is most relevant. While we temporarily retain this data for important purposes such as protecting security and improving the quality of the search service, we have employed a number of additional steps to help ensure that our users’ privacy is protected. These protections include keeping search queries separated from personally identifying data such as names or email addresses, strictly limiting access to the data, and strong security measures to help prevent unauthorized disclosure.

re: Methods Matter for Protecting Privacy Online

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:23:24 GMT

As long as the IP address has not been taken out completely (apart from other data), there is no anonymity at all. So that means that for the first 18 months the user is clearly identified. In other words your online privacy policy is non-existing.

re: Methods Matter for Protecting Privacy Online

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:07:19 GMT

Mike Hintze, Microsoft Associate General Counsel blogs from today's State of the Net Conference in Washington