After the U.S. Supreme Court rendered the landmark ruling “Roe v. Wade”, Google is now also taking action. In the future, the tech group will delete so-called sensitive entries about the location.
In “Roe v. Wade” is a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. The 1973 ruling enshrined the right for women to have an abortion in the US Constitution. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court reversed that judgment. Well-known tech companies such as Apple and Disney have already reacted to the controversial new abortion law by, among other things, allowing their employees to travel abroad for appropriate medical care. Google is also following suit and even going a step further by giving location history on mobile devices a major update.
Google will no longer save every location in the future
Anyone who has activated the Google location history can display where they have been and when in the past few days, weeks or even years. The disadvantage: A detailed movement profile of the user is created, which third parties can also see in case of doubt. You can also delete the history manually in the Google account settings, but this is more complicated than automatic deletion by Google. As a result of the overturned judgment, Google now intends to do just that. A corresponding update is to be rolled out in the USA.
In the future, Google will then automatically “forget” to visit a so-called “sensitive medical facility”. These include abortion clinics, but also addiction counseling centers, fertility centers, cosmetic surgeons and shelters for victims of domestic violence.
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More privacy for Google users
The topic of data security at Google keeps both users and lawyers busy. With the step of no longer saving certain locations in the future, Google is giving users more privacy and is setting an example. If the software determines in the future that such a “sensitive medical facility” has been visited, the entry will disappear directly from the history.
“Privacy is important to people, especially when it comes to issues like their health,” writes Google Vice President Jen Fitzpatrick. “We are aware that people rely on Google to keep their personal data safe.” Based on the resulting responsibility, according to Fitzpatrick, a number of measures are now in force.
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Further measures
In addition to the automatically deleted location, Google wants to take other precautions or has already taken them. It is now easier for users of the Play Store to find out what information an app developer collects from their customers. Owners of sports trackers such as Fitbit devices can also actively intervene and delete data. The same goes for dedicated cycle trackers for women. The datasets could provide curious clues as to whether a woman may have terminated a pregnancy.
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The company also refers to its long track record of working with authorities. The protection of user data always has top priority. Fitzpatrick writes: “We remain committed to protecting our users from improper government data requests (…).”
Google does not mention when the automatic deletion of locations will also be used internationally. However, a corresponding update can be expected very soon.