The article "No Time to Live: James Bond Explains Row-Level TTL" by Dan Kelly introduces row-level Time-To-Live (TTL) as a significant feature in CockroachDB 22.1, which automates the deletion of expired data. This mechanism, highly requested since 2017, removes the need for developers to write custom scripts for data expiration, simplifying compliance with data retention regulations and improving database management. The feature works by selecting and deleting expired rows through background jobs that are rate-limited to minimize impact on active transactions. Row-level TTL offers a more efficient alternative to traditional methods like table partitioning and supports various use cases, such as managing inactive data and maintaining compliance. The author highlights the ease and efficiency this feature brings to developers and notes that it is part of a broader set of enhancements in the CockroachDB 22.1 release.