Google Maps is making a big privacy change to protect your location history
Illustration: The Verge
Google Maps is changing the way it handles your location data. Instead of backing up your data to the cloud, Google will soon store it locally on your device.
In an email sent to users, Google says you have until December 1st to save all your travels to your mobile device before it starts deleting your old data. Timeline — previously known as Location History — is the feature that tracks your routes and trips based on your phone’s location, allowing you to revisit all the places you’ve been in the past.
But now, instead of tying all of this information to your Google account, the company will link it to the devices you use. Google first announced this change in December 2023 as part of its efforts to double down on privacy. The company...