Google Backs off on Previously Announced Allo Privacy Feature

By Asma Majid / 1474491093
(Photo : GettyImages/AdamBerry) Google's Allo messaging app has been released.

Google Allo was unveiled at Google's I/O conference earlier this year. The company had talked about bold new message retention practices.

However, the Verge reported that Google Allo is not end-to-end encrypted by default. The version of Allo that was rolled out on Wednesday will be storing all messages on Google's servers. The app holds on to the data by default.

Privacy campaigners for instant text-messaging are demanding active measures to stop this. They are also concerned about Google backing off on its earlier statements.

According to the Verge, before the app went live, it was said that it would only store messages transiently. But Google raised a privacy concern when it confirmed that messages encrypted by default would not be deleted from its servers until a user actively deletes them.

"It's important that citizens are given enough information about what will happen to their data for them make an informed choice about whether or not they want to use this service," said Daniel Nesbitt, research director at Big Brother Watch. "This includes who may be able to access it and where the data will be stored."

Google had earlier promised to store Allo messages in non-identifiable form. But now Allo will be giving Google default access to the full history of a user's conversations on the app.

The messaging app is already facing the wrath of many members of the public who demand a right to be kept informed about how their records are handled.

Conversations within Allo (all non-incognito messages), which are encrypted between the device and Google servers, are accessible to Google's algorithms.

However, users avoid the logging by using Allo's Incognito Mode which is end-to-end-encrypted.