Tech companies have been forced to up the ante when it comes to user privacy lately, primarily due to the growing number of data breaches and scandals they've been responsible for (directly or indirectly).
Most notably, tech giants are now more transparent with their users about how their data is used and collected. Easy-to-understand privacy policies are now the norm, and several companies even offer the GDPR's mandated data deletion tools to all customers, whether they're in the EU or not.
Google, for example, does let you delete data it's gathered about you so far. However, it's only a temporary measure; you can't permanently stop the company from learning about your search habits, location history, and more (though you can temporarily "pause" many of these functions).
The obvious solution to the dilemma may be to simply delete your data at regular intervals, but many users likely forget the functionality exists. Fortunately for them, Google is offering a compromise of sorts now.
In addition to the previously-noted pause and data deletion tools, the search giant will soon let you choose to have your location and search data auto-deleted every three or 18 months. These scrubbing controls are arriving in the coming weeks, and they could expand to cover other forms of data (such as your Google Assistant history) in the future.