Top search sites unveil plans on user privacy

Klaidas writes: "BBC News have reported that the top four search sites, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Ask, have unveiled plans to cut how much data they hold and how long they store it.
The rush to improve privacy policies was started by Google in March when it announced it would start deleting the final parts of the individual address it collects from each user's computer after 18 months. Earlier this month the firm announced that its cookies would expire two years on from a user's last visit. Prior to the policy change they were set to last until 2038.
Microsoft is expected to make a similar announcement to separate the identifying address and other data from searches after 18 months. The information will be held for longer if users request it.
Yahoo said it would delete identifying addresses and cookies after 13 months unless users want the data held longer or law enforcement agencies require it to store the information for longer.
Ask is taking the most radical step by unveiling plans for a tool called AskEraser which, it claims, will let people tune whether data is gathered about them on a search-by-search basis.
"People should be able to search and surf online without having to navigate a complicated patchwork of privacy policies," said Peter Cullen, Microsoft's chief privacy strategist, in a statement."