back to article Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

Google has admitted it lost some customer data, possibly forever. The data was stored in Google Maps’ Timeline feature, which – for those of you who let Google track you around the world – preserves a record of locations you visit. That sounds creepy and perhaps creepier still once you realize Google makes it possible for …

  1. cookiecutter

    Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

    AGAIN!!!

    Fixed it...

    https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/google-cloud-accidentally-nukes-customer-account-causes-two-weeks-of-downtime/

    https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/20/google_cloud_network_outage/

    Etc etc etc..

    Anyone who put their data on Google is a moron

    1. Emir Al Weeq

      Re: Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

      Those who haven't previously lost data like this and don't read the likes of El Reg and arstechnica aren't necessarily morons, they're just ill-informed.

      My children's school uses Google Classroom. I would like to have seen them have a similar problem: today's lesson is on the very real risks of storing all your data in someone else's computer.

      1. MachDiamond Silver badge

        Re: Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

        "My children's school uses Google Classroom."

        Won't that be handy as they become adults and we can see where all of their outlook and attitudes were fixed, who their teacher was at the time and ......

    2. geoff61

      Re: Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

      The data in question, i.e. the Maps timeline, is stored on the phone with an optional backup to the cloud. The deletion must have been caused by a bug in the Maps app.

      The people who opted to enable the backup are able to restore the data to their phone. Seems to me that choice is not moronic at all.

      1. heyrick Silver badge

        Re: Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

        The storing of data on the phone is new. Until sometime towards the end of last year it used to be stored in the cloud and accessible to all of your devices. So it is possible that not everybody remembered to get it copied across.

      2. Andrew Scott Bronze badge

        Re: Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

        it's only a backup if there are two copies. If the backup copy is deleted you should have the original. if the original is lost, you should have the backup. if you only have one copy the off site those are an archive. lose that and it's probably gone forever. Always have at least two copies of data you don't want to lose. That's one of the problems with "onedrive". by default all your data is moved to the cloud. if something goes wrong with that it's gone. hopefully ms has a "backup" for their alleged backup system.

    3. Bebu sa Ware
      Coat

      Re: Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

      Anyone who put their data on Google is a moron

      Or is relying on the Chocolate Factory ... to "lose it."

      1. MachDiamond Silver badge

        Re: Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

        "Or is relying on the Chocolate Factory ... to "lose it.""

        To date, the Big Data companies such as Google have been very good at not losing PII.

    4. EricB123 Silver badge

      Re: Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'

      I like to back up on that green tape 6 digit Baudot code. I love the "chinka -chinka" sound as well.

  2. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Holmes

    <cough>

    If it's not your computer, it's not your data.

    1. An_Old_Dog Silver badge

      Re: <cough>

      It's still your data ... but it effectively becomes other companies' data, too.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Drama's /crime programmed

    At least now there is the reason to ask the suspect "where were you on <random date>"

    Instead of "pass us your phone and password so we can check your timeline" - which they never seem to do

    1. ArrZarr Silver badge

      Re: Drama's /crime programmed

      Of course, an enterprising ne'er-do-well could never give their phone to somebody else while they're out doing the thing they're accused of.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Drama's /crime programmed

        Or turn tracking off.

        1. ArrZarr Silver badge

          Re: Drama's /crime programmed

          Turning tracking off wouldn't present a potential alibi. Having an (otherwise accurate) location tracker show you elsewhere at the time of a crime would be more compelling evidence that the suspect didn't do what they're accused of.

          1. MachDiamond Silver badge

            Re: Drama's /crime programmed

            "Turning tracking off wouldn't present a potential alibi. "

            Nor would it be damning since tech can fail for all sorts of reasons.

            I keep everything off on my phone (WF, BT, Loc, Data) unless I'm using them at the moment. The phone is also de-Googled. Sure, I'm still leaving breadcrumbs, but not entire loaves of bread as a trail. If I were to consider taking up a life of crime, I'd not be bringing my phone along and might plant it on the other side of town doing some innocuous pre-programmed web browsing to look like it's me having a quite evening.

          2. doublelayer Silver badge

            Re: Drama's /crime programmed

            Unless they have any evidence saying you weren't in the same place your phone says you were, and instead of eliminating location evidence as unreliable, they spin it as you deliberately leaving your phone behind to create an alibi. That would work against you. Not tracking the location at all might be the more reliable, because lack of evidence is harder to spin against you.

            1. ArrZarr Silver badge
              Holmes

              Re: Drama's /crime programmed

              Which is why I didn't suggest leaving the phone at home, but passing the phone to a friend [who would be out and about in a different location].

  4. geoff61

    Photos on the timeline?

    "creepier still once you realize Google makes it possible for photos to appear on the Timeline too"

    Is that still working for anyone since the change to storing timeline data on the phone? I'm not seeing photos in my timeline now.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Photos on the timeline?

      Not to mention photos have EXIF data which by default save the time, technical parameters and, if allowed, GPS data.

  5. abend0c4 Silver badge

    There are changes afoot

    I've been receiving periodic messages for several months relating to a relative's account regarding changes to the Timeline implementation:

    You have Timeline turned on for your account, which helps you go back in time and remember where you've been. With Timeline, your visits and routes are automatically saved to a map on each of your devices. This is a reminder that Timeline is changing. Now, if you choose to keep Timeline on, all of your devices will save new visits on their own Timelines — including any devices that previously had Location History reporting turned off. Because of these changes, you need to choose new settings to avoid losing Timeline data.

    Not that correlation is causation, of course, but it seems like a data loss was already scheduled, if not for this weekend.

  6. Locomotion69 Bronze badge
    Big Brother

    So Google actually is capable in deleting your data without recovery.

    Good to know! They will not use this data to train there AI, or any data harvesting for your convenience for commercial purpose.

    Just tell us simple beings how to do this: delete and be sure it is gone....

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Trust....Control.....Backup......

    Trust Google to Control your data and to Backup your data.......

    Really?

    Ditto AWS.....ditto MS......ditto Meta.........

    Please......wake up.......just abandon this cloudy dream.......for which you are paying many time over.................

    1. heyrick Silver badge

      Re: Trust....Control.....Backup......

      Most of us aren't paying - and I think that's the real issue here. They needed disc space for those who are. </cynic>

  8. Mike H.

    Yes, I received that email telling me that perhaps my Timeline data was gone, and it was :(

    I'm fed up with them mucking about with Timeline. I used to enjoy being able to look at Timeline on my PC, but they took that away. Such a hassle to view it on the mobile screen, but anyway, that's what was left.

    Luckily I had the Encrypted Backups turned on that they suggested a while back, so my Timeline data is back.

    But the day will come when they either delete and lose my data completely, or they'll reduce the functionality till it's no longer useful.

    1. mirachu Bronze badge

      Mucking about with Timeline gave me a Marvel TVA flashback.

    2. ecofeco Silver badge

      The march forward to total enshitifcation cannot be stopped! It will be victorious!

    3. Missing Semicolon Silver badge

      And then they say you could recover from an "encrypted backup". But there's no option for it!

      I suspect shenanigans. Reaching in to your phone to remove data is perhaps because the data was exfiltatable by Google, and was therefore subject to subpoena.

  9. Falmari Silver badge
    Devil

    Deserve from Google

    "Google admits it deleted some customer data after 'technical issue'". Google engineers quickly isolated and fixed issue, but not quickly enough for some user profiles it would seem.

    "The email goes on to" apologize to users as profiling will not be as in-depth or as privacy invasive as their users have come expect and deserve from Google.

    If the user has a backup of their timeline they can retore it. If they do not they should reply to this email with a detailed itinerary of what they have done and where they have been for the last 3 years, along with any relevant photos. So Google can once again provide the privacy invading data stealing service our user deserves.

  10. ecofeco Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    And this is bad, why?

    I'd say those people were done a favor.

  11. Oneman2Many Bronze badge

    As of a few months ago Google only store data on your phone, its not shared anywhere. The issue was that backup of timeline was switch off by default so there are probably plenty of people who have lost data they wanted. And yes there are plenty of people who know about data slurping but timeline is a useful feature. I did read that timeline might be going away completely which would be a shame.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      This. Allegedly, the system broke up in a way that made the phones briefly believe that the user did not want to keep the data — which is the default — and so it got deleted.

      Thankfully, I did have backups. I find it a very useful feature. It used to be better when the data was in the cloud and you could see it on the desktop, you could easily see a map of everywhere you've been and when; now it's a bit less user friendly.

  12. Blackjack Silver badge

    This is not the first time Google has done something like this and probably won't be the last.

    Anyone here remembers the last time they randomly deleted stuff from Google Drive for example?

    1. cookiecutter

      It's why the only Google product I use is my nest thermostat, which I bought before they were bought by Google. I was looking at Wiz as a potential firm to investigate for clients in the future but they're being bought by Google it seems so that's a no go.

      Everything Google touches turns to shit

  13. fluffymitten

    It didn't happen over the weekend, that's just when they finally admitted it was their fault. My timeline was erased around 7 March and the subsequent backups were of an empty timeline. So what was there to restore?

    1. Oneman2Many Bronze badge

      The e-mail said if you had encrypted backups enabled then it shows you can restore from the backup. A couple of months ago Google stopped sync'ing timeline and it would only be stored on the phone, at the same time you had to enable to save data else it would be auto deleted. What seemed to be missing from those instructions is enabling backups as well.

  14. tiggity Silver badge

    The cynical part of me

    Thinks this is all a bit deliberate.

    I expect Google to be blaming the "nasty pro privacy people" for making Google change Timeline handling which led to this unfortunate data loss.

    .. Then coming out with please such as see what happens when the nasty pro privacy people win, you lose data you really enjoyed, don't let the pro privacy bullies win again or who knows what you might lose next - wouldn't want to lose photos, email, phone contacts, youtube videos etc......

  15. steviebuk Silver badge

    3 2 1 backup

    3 copies, on 2 different types of media (not so relevant now really), 1 off site.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Actually...

    ...I wouldn't shed a tear of Google lost all the data it has hoovered from my devices over the years. If anything, I would probably celebrate.

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