Your phone is still being tracked.
Google has confirmed a game-changer when it comes to tracking your every move. This is a major privacy change and it’s critical you know it’s happening and what you need to do now to ensure your location data is safe and secure.
As I reported in June, Google is finally bringing an end to the invasive cloud storage of the data it generates from tracking your location in real time. This is now badged Timeline, but it’s still just an exceptionally sensitive data store presented back to you through a Google Maps UI. We all know our smartphones continually balance convenience and privacy when it comes to data collection. There is not much data more sensitive than our locations, and so this change is welcome.
Location History can give you more personalized experiences across Google, such as place recommendations, based on where you’ve been.” As Google explains, “when you turn on Location History, your precise device location is regularly saved to your devices and Google’s servers, even when Google apps aren’t being used.”
As with all Google’s data collection, you can can adjust settings to suit your privacy preferences, but most stick with defaults. The problem is that “to make Google experiences helpful for everyone, your data can also be used to: Show info, such as popular times and environmental insights, based on anonymized location data,” and worryingly, “to improve and develop Google services, including ads products.”
All change now. In December last year, Google confirmed it would finally stop storing and harvesting all this user location data in its cloud, and would instead limit it to on-device only, the same way other cloud-device sync’d private data is treated. In June, we expected that this change would be implemented from today, December 1, and would be completed for all users by the end of 2024.
Meet your new on-device Timeline
That’s not the case. There is actually no specific date for a universal change, instead all users will receive an email explaining the change to their accounts. Google has clarified “this update is rolling out gradually… people will see different deletion deadlines, approximately six months from when they were first notified about this change to their account.” That means 180-days before your cloud data is deleted.
So, here’s what you need to do when you receive your email and 180-day countdown. Simply open Google Maps on your primary smartphone, and from there you can set your new Timeline preferences. That will enable Google to delete its cloud data store while you maintain the extent of Timeline data’s you want, securely in your device.
Google assures that “if you’re getting a new phone or are worried about losing your existing one, you can back up your data to the cloud so it doesn’t get lost. We’ll automatically encrypt your backed-up data so no one can read it, including Google.”
A word of caution, though. Data stored is data that can be found. As ESET’s Jake Moore has warned of Apple’s equivalent significant locations data store, “when I used to investigate digital forensics for the police, this little known feature became extremely useful when searching for evidence on iPhones.”
This isn’t the only location tracking tidy-up taking place at the moment. One of the less well known features likely to be released with Apple’s iOS 18.2 this month is the option to remove location data before sharing photos, a long overdue fix.
While you should wait for the email from Google, my advice would be to make the changes now. Enter ‘Your Timeline’ in Google Maps and set it up in the way that’s right for you. And then Google can safely delete that central data store and your sensitive location information will be more secure.