Google Maps is modifying how it manages location-based information. Google will soon store your data locally on your device rather than backing it up to the cloud.
Google stated in an email to consumers that users have until December 1st to save all of their trip data on their mobile device before it begins to erase historical data. Timeline, formerly called position History, is a feature that lets you go back and revisit all the places you’ve visited by tracking your routes and journeys depending on the position of your phone.
However, the company will now link all of this data to the devices you use rather than your Google account. Google initially made this announcement in December 2023 as part of its increased focus on privacy. To keep authorities from obtaining location history, the business previously started removing places from location history and updating Maps, including abortion clinics, shelters for victims of domestic abuse, weight loss programs, and more.
Starting in December, users won’t be able to view their Timeline online due to the switch to on-device storage. By then, Google will try to transfer the last ninety days of your trip history to the first device you use to log into Google. Unless you enable the new Timeline settings before then. After that, the company will remove any older data.
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To continue using Timeline, launch Google Maps on your mobile device, and select Your Timeline by clicking on your profile image in the upper-right corner of the screen. Next, choose whether you want Google to automatically remove your location data after three, eighteen, or thirty-six months, or if you want to keep it until you explicitly delete it. Google will save the data you wish to have on your mobile device.