Google Maps, the greatest app of all time, has a Timeline feature that saves your visits and routes to help you go back in time or revisit all the places you’ve been to. According to emails sent out to users by Google, it looks like it’s erasing any data older than three months (via Android Authority). For folks who want to keep their location history, the email also provides instructions on preserving it.
Android Authority reveals that in December 2023, Google changed all your location history to the device instead of the cloud. But the emails suggest that that’s going away soon. Some emails mention a November 19 deadline for the new changes, while others say December 1. Given this ambiguity, it is best to act as soon as you receive the email.
To prevent Google from deleting your previously visited places, click on a link embedded in the email and follow the instructions. The link takes you to a page that lets you choose between keeping your data until you delete it or automatically deleting it after three months. The three-month option is part of a dropdown menu, so you can probably pick more Timelines from here. However, there’s a major catch here, too.
The catch, which feels more like a huge blooper on Google’s part, is that some folks report selecting the first option (keeping the data until they delete it) and still have everything erased. This is an egregious mistake, especially after you’ve suddenly threatened millions of users by destroying all evidence of their past travel.
Android Authority suggests backing up your location history via Google Takeout to ensure you’re not a victim of this. You can do this by selecting only “Location History (Timeline)” and leaving everything else unchecked. Once you have a backup, you can then follow along with the instructions in the email.
Sadly, two more changes are happening as part of inevitable collateral damage. First, you will no longer be able to access Timeline on the web, and second, your Timeline will now be device-specific. If you log in to a device, your location history will show up for that device only instead of the Google account you’re logged in to.
It’s strange that such a change was suddenly brought upon users in a fairly stressful way, and the vague instructions, such as two different deadlines, only worsened the situation. Of course, doing as Google tells you and still having all your precious history deleted doesn’t help the case.