Google vows to delete location history of those visiting abortion clinics

File / eExtra News

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Google has announced it will protect users’ location tracking that could trigger legal problems in states where the termination of pregnancies has been banned.

The announcement was made in a blog post last Friday, wherein Google outlined its new policies which are being put in place to protect users’ privacy when they visit what Google called “sensitive” health-related locations. These locations include abortion clinics and domestic violence shelters. Other locations include counseling centers, fertility centers, addiction treatment facilities, weight loss clinics, and cosmetic surgery clinics. The company said it will automatically purge location information for users who visit these locations.

“We’re committed to delivering robust privacy protections for people who use our products, and we will continue to look for new ways to strengthen and improve these protections,” Google’s Senior Vice President of Core Systems and Engagement, Jen Fitzpatrick, wrote in the blog post. “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 said the company will also update its app store protocols about data privacy, “to give people more information about how apps collect, share, and secure their data.”