Alphabet, the parent company of Google, will delete location data showing when a user has visited an abortion clinic, the online search company said on Friday, after concerns that a digital footprint could inform law enforcement when a pregnant woman performs an illegal abortion.

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion is no longer a constitutional right, several states have enacted laws limiting abortion, and the tech industry has begun to worry that police could obtain warrants to access search history. of customers, their geolocation and other information that reveals their pregnancy plans, writes The Guardian.

Google said Friday that it will continue to oppose improper or excessive requests from the government, not referring to abortion.

The company said that a Google account's location history is disabled by default.

This will become effective in the coming weeks for those using location history, entries showing sensitive locations including fertility centers, abortion clinics and addiction treatment centers will be deleted immediately after a visit.

A Google spokesman did not immediately respond to a question about whether the company will identify these visits or whether all data related to those visits will be deleted from the server.

Google is the first tech company to publicly say how it will handle user data in response to concerns about the court's decision, and how it will be able to be challenged at law.

/Telegraph/