internet privacy european-union
Is it illegal for a search engine to not provide an option to opt out of saving search history?
<p>Currently Bing search has no option unlike Google search to opt out of saving history. Although Bing search can be set to not save history, it still saves the history of the user in the Microsoft account (if logged in) even though the search setting says otherwise.</p>

<p>Is it illegal to mislead the user in this way? If it is indeed mentioned in conditions, is it not illegal to not provide an option to <strong>opt out</strong> as per EU law. I am asking for EU privacy law in case the answer needs to be specific.</p>

<p>Edit 1: Bing history page is in : <a href="https://www.bing.com/profile/history" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.bing.com/profile/history</a></p>

<p>Microsoft Account History: <a href="https://account.microsoft.com/privacy/activity-history" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://account.microsoft.com/privacy/activity-history</a></p>

<p>You can see all your history in the second link even if the search history is disabled in the Bing History page.</p>

<p>Edit 2: Yes I mean about GPDR. It is enforceable from 25th May 2018. So they should comply before that or else they will be fined?</p>

<p>Why do you think you've been mislead? Read the TOS for Bing; you agree to it when you use the service. The TOS will clearly outline what data is saved for all users, including the EU. If you don't like the fact that Bing saves data, don't use the service. Microsoft is under no obligation to offer the same options as Google. Besides, it appears you can opt-out of Bing saving search data; see <a href="https://www.bing.com/profile/history" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.bing.com/profile/history</a> and login to your Microsoft account.</p>

<p><strong>Update 4/01/18:</strong> Since by "EU privacy law" you mean the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">General Data Protection Regulation GDPR (Wikipedia)</a>, realize that the GDPR can be enforced <em>after</em> 25 May 2018. There was a two-year transition period before that date that allowed for education and for companies to come into compliance and be ready for the beginning of the enforcement date. Look for changes in the Bing profile and dashboard around 25 May, as well as changes in their TOS.</p>
