The company will start deleting location data for users who are recorded visiting medical facilities such as abortion clinics, counseling centers, domestic violence shelters, and fertility centers soon after they leave, the company announced Friday. Big Tech companies have come under mounting pressure to limit the release of data to law enforcement agencies that may be tasked with pursuing those who get abortions in states that have tightened restrictions on the procedure.
”Some of the places people visit … can be particularly personal,” the company said in a statement. “Today, we’re announcing that if our systems identify that someone has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit. This change will take effect in the coming weeks.”
Google’s location history data collection is an account setting that is turned off by default but can be prompted with a user’s consent. While the company had already implemented policies that forbids selling personal and sensitive user data to outside companies, Google has advanced by requiring developers to tell how they use the data they collect.