Following the launch of Google Allo, concerns about the smart messaging app’s impact on privacy have surfaced.
Allo, promoted by Google as a privacy-conscious app, retains all messages indefinitely until manually deleted. This may not be a concern for some users, but others might find the idea of their messages being stored forever unsettling.
The decision to store messages permanently is reportedly linked to the Smart Reply function. It is believed that this technology performs better with a longer history of conversations to analyze.
Allo’s message storage policy differentiates it from other messaging apps. Unlike its competitors, which typically have privacy features enabled by default, Allo is transparent about storing your messages from the outset.
Users have full control over how long their data remains on Google’s servers, with the option to delete entire conversations or individual messages. Additionally, Incognito Mode is available, offering end-to-end encryption.
Over time, it remains to be seen whether the potential privacy trade-off is justified by the accuracy of Smart Reply’s predictions.
