Update: Microsoft cuts time Bing stores some user data to six months

From InfoWorld: Microsoft announced plans to cut the length of time it stores IP addresses of Web searchers using its Bing search engine from 18 months to six in a bid to improve its privacy track record.

Rival Google cut retention times to nine months from 18 in August 2008.

However, Microsoft executives said Tuesday that their initiative goes much further than Google did, because Microsoft will delete all parts of the IP (Internet Protocol) address after six months, while Google still retains part of the address after its self-imposed nine-month cut-off point.

It will take Microsoft between 12 and 18 months to introduce the new tighter data retention policy, it said in a blog posting.

Both companies are responding to pressure from European data protection officials, who are concerned about the privacy implications of retaining an IP address.

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