Google to let users to automatically delete location history

In yet another bid to address privacy concerns, Google is rolling out a key feature that will allow people to automatically delete their Location History, Web and App Activity data.

The search giant already allows users to manually delete the data it scoops up when they use its products such as YouTube, Maps and Search.

Now, in a bid to offer more control over personal data, it will offer the option of automatic deletion after three or 18 months.

Google said the new tools would appear in the "coming weeks".

Google last year courted controversy when an Associated Press investigation found that many Google services on Android devices and iPhones store users' location data even if the users explicitly used privacy settings to turn it off.

And earlier this month, to the surprise of many people, Google said human reviewers sometimes listened to voice recordings from its Home speaker and Assistant app.

Currently, Google's web history and location tracking can be "paused" in the settings page for each account.

But in the coming weeks, it will offer the option to have this data automatically removed when it is more than a few months old.

It will not, however, offer automatic deletion of YouTube watch history or voice commands issued via Home and Assistant.