AVG to flog your web browsing, search history from mid-October

Changes in the privacy policy of AVG's free antivirus doodad will allow it to collect your web browsing and search history – and sell it to advertisers to bankroll its freemium security software products.

The changes will come into play on 15 October, according to the Czech-based biz in a blog post. The revised privacy policy can be found here, with the key paragraph extracted below:

We collect non-personal data to make money from our free offerings so we can keep them free, including:

• Advertising ID associated with your device.
• Browsing and search history, including meta data.
• Internet service provider or mobile network you use to connect to our products.
• Information regarding other applications you may have on your device and how they are used.

AVG will also collect and broker information about apps it finds on a user's computer or device.

The security software firm says it will not sell personal information such as names, emails, addresses, or payment card details, and will try to "anonymize the data we collect and store it in a manner that does not identify you."

The biz admitted that private information may be exposed or inferred from one's browsing history. "Sometimes browsing history or search history contains terms that might identify you," AVG's privacy policy reads.

"If we become aware that part of your browsing history might identify you, we will treat that portion of your history as personal data, and will anonymize this information." ®