The data still <i>exists</i> in aggregate form. Even if Google went against their business model of using as much data as possible for targeted advertising, as recent data breaches have demonstrat4ed, it is foolish to think the data will stay with Google <i>forever</i>.<p>Data that is sitting around unused is tempting to use the next time they hit a financial hardship, and it&#x27;s a <i>very</i> tempting target for various types of thieves and governments with national security letters.<p>The proper way to handle this problem would be for Google (or whomever) to be liable for mishandling the data they hold. If google wants to have this data, they would then have a strong incentive for keeping it secret. Even better, it would encourage Google to only keep data for as long as it was needed (&quot;leftover&quot; data becomes a potential liability risk with no benefit).