Yahoo Extends Data Retention From 90 Days To 18 Months

Yahoo has extended the length of time they hold onto user data to 18 months from the previous 90 days.

Yahoo released a statement claiming the move will give users "a more robust individualized experience" while it continues to value "innovation in the areas of transparency and choice to protect privacy."

Though the company strove to minimize the length of data retention in the past, it has since reevaluated their policy on how long it will keep log file data --a file listing the actions that users take, such as where they go on the site and when.

"It's clear that the Internet has changed, our business has changed, and the competitive landscape has changed," read the statement. "We have been reevaluating our log file data retention policy in light of these changes and as a result of this review we are moving to align our log file data retention policy closer to the competitive norm across the industry."

Yahoo will roll out the changes in the next four to six weeks, with a series of notifications, and then instate changes 30 days after notifications are finished--likely in mid to late July.

Yahoo's announcement arrives shortly after the Department of Justice called for Internet Service Providers to hold onto user data for longer to assist investigations.