On: Google will delete new accounts' data by default in 18 months

[tylerhou]

While deleting data does save space, one 10-minute YouTube video is far bigger than a few years of browsing history. Google isn't turning auto-delete for storage reasons.

YouTube watch data is used to personalize recommendations, and browsing data is used to personalize ads: https://policies.google.com/privacy#whycollect.

Disclaimer: I work at Google.

[adrianhel → tylerhou]

Can I consent to permanent storage somewhere? I love using the timeline in Google Maps!

[tylerhou → adrianhel]

Yes, in “my activity.”

https://myactivity.google.com/activitycontrols

The location history setting toggles whether data for My Timeline is kept.

[machinehermit → tylerhou]

I just don't get how Youtube recommendations are so bad. So often it recommends me things I have already watched.

Or the algorithm knows I like David Bowie so recommends me "Changes". The most boring possible recommendation it can give to a David Bowie fan.

I really wish it had a setting to up the daring of the recommendation. It seems designed to just never recommend something that I would really hate but in doing so it never recommends me anything all that interesting.

[diegoperini → tylerhou]

Thanks for sharing.