Google Maps will soon delete your location history – unless you tell it not to

• Timeline, the journey and location tracking function of Google Maps, will soon switch to local storage
• Google will delete all Timeline data older than 3 months by default
• The official solution is deleting data for some users

Google is gearing up to implement changes to its location-tracking Maps feature that will see users’ previous location history erased unless quick action is taken.

As we previously reported, in December 2023 Google announced that location history gathered via 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 will download the most recent three months of a user’s Timeline history to their device, erasing the rest forever.

Though we previously expected this change to happen in December, mixed reports have emerged that suggest an earlier deadline.

As Android Authority 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 course of where the user has been.

The feature was first introduced in 2015 before making its way to iOS in 2017, meaning some users may have almost a decade’s worth of location history saved to the cloud.

Beyond the sentimental value of plotting your life’s journey, Google can (with consent) use Timeline data to assess the effectiveness of advertising.

Google Maps Timeline currently syncs across devices over the internet, but it will effectively become…