As everyone knows by now, GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation is updating data protection rules as of 25th May 2018. The new regulation has been created to protect personal data, which has become highly publicised after the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

With the updated regulation coming into place, it is important for businesses to review their data, especially those that collect data for advertising purposes. In response to this, Google Analytics have renewed their data storing which users must adhere to.

Product Update

Google have updated GA to give users data retention control, meaning you can alter how long user data is stored for. You must specify the length of time you want data to be stored for and any data older than this data range will be removed. This ensures that user data can only be accessed for limited time periods and not reused for incorrect purposes. This feature helps to make sure that every account complies to GDPR, without needing much effort from admins.

User Deletion Tool

On May 25th, a user deletion tool will be available, in which admins can delete all data stored against one specific user. This is a good tool for admins if a customer gets in contact asking to be removed from every database. Admins can then go into Analytics and remove every part of data stored against this user.

Data Safeguarding

To add extra protection to the Analytics data, Google will be adding features and policies to safeguard data. This includes, custom cookie settings, data deletion when an account is closed and making IP addresses anonymous.

Contract Updates

Google is rolling out contractual changes for advertisers, such as updated data processing terms and who to receive advice from on the topic of data protection. Changes to contracts for GDPR have been rolled out since August 2017, but it is mandatory from 25th May.

What can your business do?

If you or your business user Google advertising products, such as AdWords and Analytics, you must ensure that you are GDPR compliant. This could be making sure you agree to the latest Terms & Conditions or understanding how customer data is stored and removed in Analytics.
More info on Google’s data protection can be found here.