Google to erase location data for abortion clinic visits

The move comes on the heels of the Supreme Court's decision to strip federal abortion rights in the U.S.

Google Maps

The Supreme Court has stripped federal abortion rights in the U.S. and now many people are questioning whether the apps they regularly use could be turned against them. For instance, a court order could force app makers to turn down their abortion-related data, potentially harming women looking to end their pregnancy.

Google is, obviously, one of the companies with a ton of information about each one of us, with their Android platform combined with Google Maps tracking every step we make. In that sense, it knows every time a lady visits an abortion clinic.

And now the search giant is working to remove location history data about some “particularly personal” places from a Google account shortly after someone visits.

The “affected” locations include “medical facilities like counseling centers, domestic violence shelters, abortion clinics, fertility centers, addiction treatment facilities, weight loss clinics, cosmetic surgery clinics, and others.”

The company added that Fitbit users who use it for period tracking should delete those entries one by one until the ability to “delete multiple logs at once” is released — and it is in development as we speak.

The mentioned change to location history will be out in the next few weeks, and in the meantime, ladies can manually delete any information that could potentially harm them down the road.

Google added that its location history feature is off by default, but just to be sure about that – you can double-check what personal information you’re actively sharing with them. And this is especially important for ladies who do NOT want to conceive.