does Google archive all deleted Gmail forever?
 

was just wondering about this when I noticed that gmail chat logs end up being saved like regular emails......


does Google archive all email that was ever sent to or from gmail, even after you have deleted it yourself? just thinking how it would be interesting historically (and ethically terrible) if someone could ever get into those massive google data vaults and pull up all the email and chatlogs that a person ever sent in their lifetime, like 30 years from now when they become president or something

The delete function actually deletes emails, afaik.

At first, they didn't have a delete function, but customers demanded one.

Google is the works of the Devil...

i remember hearing that they keep it for X amount of days, i think it was either 7 or 30..

yeah, they're deleted :winkwink:

ive masterbated to the google logo

They probably don't actually delete them, there is really no reason to delete useful data when storage space is cheap... :2 cents:

There is a British Conspiracy guy who did a show on google, and in that documentary google official comment was that all user data, toolbar queries, searches, times, dates, frequency ETC, was stored for an indefinite amount of time, or until they felt they had a threshold of such data. (which hasnt been reached yet).

BUT, you can also find representatives that give answers like this, saying that its deleted forever. http://www.google.com/support/forum/...00891fbc&hl=en

Bottom line, once adsense began being run in gmail sidebars it became 'useful user data' that directly effects their bottom line, and that of their advertisers, so I guess, do the math :)

Deleting it probably just sets a "don't show this to the user any more" flag. It's still stored.

I also saw that doco and the Google spokesperson was skirting around the reasons for their potentially indefinite retention of data.

AdWords ads = instantly generated

Google keeps FOREVER:
-search query
-IP address/hostname
-what you clicked on
-Google account (if logged-in)

Deleted messages get deleted 30 days after you have deleted them.

But it really doesn't matter. If the government wants access to your e-mail, they can get it from AT&T. All of the worlds internet and telephone traffic passes through them at some point, and they have rooms where the NSA can just help itself to whatever it wants.

Up yours privacy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are concerned, send your e-mail with PGP encryption. They can't crack it.

Which may not be enough. There was once a drug dealer using PGP and they couldn't read his e-mail because it was secured with PGP.

So they broke into his house and put a keylogger on his computer so they could find out what he was typing. And the worst thing is that the FBI keylogger is deliberately ignored by Norton Antivirus, government-helping scum that they are!!!!!!!!

I can believe a sizeable portion of traffic would go through AT&T, but not EVERYTHING. For example, to get from Australia to Japan there's no path via the USA. ISPs and hosts also have private peering links which decentralise the net somewhat.

I don't think they have time, space and peoples to archive that

Nothng you ever write using gmail is secure ever. gmail is not for conducting rewal business on if you want any privacy at all.:2 cents::2 cents:

don't be logged in the google account, have a dynamic IP, delete cookies regularly

Alright, from now I will stop using gmail and I am gonna switch all the shit to my own box.

Echelon has you

gmail is a security leak in many ways.:2 cents:

I've heard the google founders all come from reptilian bloodlines, you figure out the rest.