Google announced a new policy on Wednesday making users' searches anonymous after 18 months to two years.

At present Google keeps all data about search made by its users retained alongside identifiable information to recognise a given computer the search has been made from. The new scheme aims at better protection of users' privacy and is to be launched within the following year. 

The announced policy accepts longer than 24 months' retention of data only if Google is legally obliged to do so; otherwise the log data has to be removed from servers and anonymised. Google keeps server logs particularly for improving their service and serving more focused AdWords campaigns to its customers.

Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology called the new scheme a “step in the right direction”.