<i>Making the change does probably keep Google on the right side of the law. By keeping track of all messages, Allo conversations will be accessible by law enforcement with warrants – something that can’t happen on apps like iMessage or WhatsApp, both of which have run into trouble over not being able to give up information to authorities.</i><p>It should be the other way. There should be a law saying that a company must meet some hurdle to store personal information for a long period of time. At least disclose it publicly. It's so ironic that the EU cares about websites disclosing that they store cookies, but not that they store conversations indefinitely.<p>The law would put a chilling effect on storing personal information indefinitely. But, like carbon emissions, it will only slow the progress towards a future where all the carbon is released from the ground / all the data is stored and analyzed by AI years from now.