14 DAY TRIAL // From Google to Yahoo, to Microsoft and to the pleiades of alternative solutions, all the companies behind Internet search engines have made it a tradition of harvesting user data. The Redmond company recently reacted to the ever increasing criticism and concern over customer privacy and revealed an "enhanced set of privacy principles for Live Search and online advertising data collection, use and protection." Microsoft announced that its focus on protecting user privacy has translated in efforts of making all search query data gathered, anonymous. The Redmond company will safeguard the anonymity of search data by removing cookie IDs, the IP addresses as well as all other distinguishable identifiers. Still, Microsoft won't do so until after it will use the complete set of data for no less than 18 months.
"We have been thinking deeply about privacy related to search and online advertising and believe it is critical to evolve our privacy principles," said Peter Cullen, chief privacy strategist at Microsoft. "We believe our enhanced principles should be part of the industry dialog on this issue and that keeping these issues as simple as possible for consumers is the best approach. For instance, on search data, anonymous should mean anonymous."
"We are entering a new age of innovative, competitive solutions to online privacy issues," said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology. "By playing an active role in developing such approaches, and embracing a call for comprehensive federal privacy legislation, Microsoft is helping to lead the way."
Microsoft's new privacy principles are designed to provide clarity on the company's search data use and retention policies. In addition to search data anonymization, after 18 months, Microsoft is also committed to presenting users with notices related to how the information gathered is collected, as well as increase the level of control that the customers have over their privacy.
"As part of its Trustworthy Computing efforts, Microsoft has maintained a strong commitment to helping protect the security and privacy of its customers. The enhanced privacy principles build upon the company's work over the last several years to advocate for comprehensive federal privacy legislation in the United States and more consistent public policy worldwide to help protect consumers, provide customers with guidance and technology to help provide for a safer online experience, and build privacy into the company's software development process," Microsoft added.