Google Ads will block access to data that is more than 11 years old

The news: Google is limiting its data retention for advertisers to information collected within the last 11 years, starting in November, the company announced this week. Data outside the 11 year period will not be accessible from the Google Ads interface or API.

Zooming out: Google’s change is an olive branch intended to reassure advertisers seeking greater protections for their first-party data on major platforms. However, it could also be an attempt to appease regulators in the US and EU, who have increasingly turned a wary eye toward data collection practices.

• Recent regulatory reports and lawsuits have cast a spotlight on how rapidly consumers’ personal data can proliferate throughout the ad ecosystem. Capital One was recently sued for improper privacy disclosures, with plaintiffs accusing the company of sharing personal data with major platforms including Google and Meta without consent.
• Weeks later, Google introduced a free ad feature called privacy matching that allowed advertisers to integrate their first-party data with its ad platform while preventing other advertisers—and Google itself—from accessing that information.

Why it matters: These changes could help protect advertisers from costly litigation like the suit Capital One is facing. But conveniently, it also gives Google a flag to wave when defending its data practices before regulators.

• The FTC recently published a scathing report on the ad industry that called for aggressive regulation, though the political landscape makes its execution uncertain. Still, an 11-year expiration date on data is unlikely to appease regulators as the most sensitive personal data is more recent.
• Advertisers could be a different story. The digital ad industry has increasingly prioritized privacy-compliant data, with recent deals and product launches focusing on hashing, clean rooms, and greater controls over first-party information.

Our take: Google’s changes might not win favor with regulators, but they could address increased demand for data protection from advertisers. Safeguarding first-party data allows advertisers to avoid privacy violations and prevent their info from being seized by competitors, but it’s still essential to integrate it into large platforms like Google Ads for more precise targeting.