Google Maps will soon delete your location history unless you tell it not to
- Timeline, Google Maps’ travel and location tracking feature, will soon switch to local storage
- By default, Google deletes all timeline data older than 3 months
- The official solution is to delete data for some users
Google is preparing to make changes to Maps’ location tracking feature that will erase users’ previous location history unless action is taken soon.
As we previously reported, Google announced in December 2023 that location history collected through the timeline feature built into the Google Maps app would be moved from cloud storage to on-device storage by the end of 2024.
By default, this change downloads the most recent three months of a user’s timeline history to their device, erasing the rest forever.
While we previously expected this change to happen in December, there have been mixed reports pointing to an earlier deadline.
If Android Authority According to reports, some users have received emails instructing them to take action by November 19 to save their timeline data.
What is Google Maps Timeline?
Google Maps Timeline is a feature built into Google Maps that allows users to track their location history as a line across the map. You can think of it as GPS in reverse, plotting a route where the user has been.
The feature was first introduced in 2015 before making its way to iOS in 2017, meaning some users have nearly a decade of location history stored in the cloud.
In addition to the sentimental value of mapping your life’s journey, Google can (with permission) use timeline data to assess the effectiveness of ads.
Google Maps Timeline currently syncs between devices over the internet, but will actually become device-specific with upcoming changes.
How do I prevent my Google Maps timeline data from being deleted?
To back up your Google Maps timeline data, the email sent to users must include a link that allows you to keep your data for longer than the last three months.
However, some users have reported that this link completely erased their location history, so be careful.
Fortunately, you can save this data using something called Google Takeout and bypass Google email completely. Go to takeout.google.comUncheck everything except Location History (Timeline), click Next Step, and then click Create Export.
We will of course update this article if more information or fixes for this potential bug come to light.
The upcoming change to Google Maps Timeline is the latest step in Google’s slow transition from free cloud services to cloud-based subscriptions or on-device features.
Google Photos famously ended its free unlimited storage option in 2021, and Google subsidiary YouTube has considered or committed to making features like video queues and 4K playback exclusive to its Premium plan.
Nevertheless, most users will just want to save their data and move on – although we don’t yet have an estimate on how much storage space Timeline will take up.
Stay tuned to our phone coverage for the latest updates as we hear them.