Google Maps has a “Timeline” feature that saves your visits and routes to help you go back in time or revisit places you’ve already visited. According to emails that Google sends out to users, it appears that it is erasing all data older than three months (via Android Authority). For those who want to keep their location history, the email also contains instructions on how to save it.
Android Authority reports that in December 2023, Google started storing your location history on your device instead of in the cloud. But emails suggest that this will soon stop. Some emails mention November 19 as the deadline for the new changes, while others mention December 1. Given this ambiguity, it’s best to act as soon as possible.
To prevent Google from deleting the places you’ve visited in the past, click on the link embedded in the email and follow the instructions. The link will take you to a page where you can choose between saving your data until it’s deleted or having it automatically deleted after three months. The three-month option is part of a drop-down menu, so you can probably choose a different time frame from here. However, there is a big catch here as well.
The catch, which is more like a huge blunder on Google’s part, is that some users report that they choose the first option (keep data until they delete it) and still everything gets wiped. This is an egregious mistake, especially after you’ve suddenly jeopardized millions of users by wiping out all evidence of their past travels.
Android Authority recommends that you back up your location history through Google Takeout to avoid falling victim to this mistake. You can do this by selecting only “Location History (Timeline)” and leaving everything else unchecked. Once you have a backup, you can follow the instructions in the email.
Unfortunately, two other changes are coming as part of the inevitable collateral damage. First, you’ll no longer be able to access your Timeline on the web, and second, your Timeline will now be device-specific. If you sign in to a device, your location history will only show up for that device, not for the Google account you’re signed in to.
Surprisingly, this change has suddenly become quite stressful for users, and unclear instructions such as two different deadlines have only made things worse. Of course, when you do what Google tells you to do and still end up deleting all your precious history, it doesn’t help matters.
