Google Maps will delete your Timeline visits and routes data on September 15, but you can prevent this

Google Maps users have been given 3 extra months to update their timeline settings and avoid losing their saved visits and routes history. Last December, Google announced changes to its “Your Timeline” feature for Google Maps, where location history would be stored on your device instead of the cloud. However, the original deadline for making these changes was recently extended from June 9, 2024, to September 15, 2024.

Google is alerting users to this upcoming change via email, emphasizing the need to take action to keep their data intact. To prevent this, those relying on the “Your Timeline” feature to revisit past locations and routes must update their settings in the Google Maps app on their smartphone before the new deadline or risk automatically losing Timeline data older than 3 months.

Users have a few options. They can continue to use Timeline in the app or, if they prefer a web browser interface, access Timeline there until September 15, 2024. For those who don’t want the feature at all, they can opt to disable “Location History” entirely. Regardless of the chosen path, users need to act before the September 15 deadline to avoid losing recent history of their visits and routes.

Google Maps’ “Your Timeline” feature relies on the “Location History” setting, which some users have opted into. But with this change, Google says Maps users will have more control and privacy over their location information by storing data locally. The tech giant will also encrypt any Timeline data backed up to the cloud, ensuring that it remains unreadable even by the Google Maps team itself.