Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has been sending out emails warning users that any Timeline data older than three months will be deleted unless you choose otherwise.
- The deadline for this change is as soon as November 19, although some users have also seen a December 1 deadline.
- The email includes a link to retain your location history, but it looks like this option is nuking Timeline data for some people.
Google announced a major change to its Timeline location history feature in December 2023. This change will see Google Maps saving your location history on-device after years of storing it in the cloud. Now, it looks like the deadline for this change is fast approaching.
Android Authority colleague Adamya Sharma recently received an email from Google notifying her that these Timeline changes will take place from November 19. This differs from a previously reported December 1 date, although it seems like people are getting differing dates to begin with. Check out the screenshots below.
What happens if you take no action after your deadline, though? Google says it’ll try to export your last 90 days of Timeline data to the first signed-in device you use after the deadline. However, any Timeline data older than 90 days will be deleted. The company says it’ll also keep saving your new location history to your current device.
How to keep your Timeline location history
Want to save your location history? Google’s email has a link that lets you choose to either keep Timeline data until you decide to delete it or auto-delete data after three months (check the screenshot below). However, some people have chosen the former option and reported that their Timeline data has been deleted anyway. That seems like a massive bug on Google’s part.
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority
So, it’s highly recommended that you first export your Timeline data using Google Takeout to ensure you have a backup of your location history. To do this, visit takeout.google.com, untick everything but Location History (Timeline), and then choose Next step > Create export. It also looks like Google is slowly rolling out a button to export your timeline data from individual devices, which will be accessible via Settings > Location > Location services > Timeline. But this only seems to apply to Timeline data on that specific device rather than your entire Timeline history.
It’s worth stressing that this revised approach to location history will ultimately kill Timeline access on the web. Furthermore, your Timeline will now effectively be unique to each device.