How to use the Google Maps Timeline tool

Google Maps is more than a simple navigation tool. Beyond the app’s turn-by-turn directions and reviews of local businesses is a feature called Timeline. The Google Maps Timeline is a tool that tracks where you’ve been, including details like how many miles you traveled, what other stops you made , or even whether you walked, drove, or took public transit. In short, it’s a complete comprehensive summary of your activity.

The Google Maps Timeline tool serves as a sort of digital travel log, allowing you to reminisce and even gain insight into your travel habits or view a full list of the countries you’ve visited. The automatic tracking based on your device’s location can also be a helpful tool for tracking your mileage as a tax write-off. However, Google states that the Timeline is only an estimate, which means it may not be as accurate or convenient as apps that are designed specifically for mileage tracking. Still, the free tool offers several features to track data on how you travel.

Formerly called Location History, a recent update has brought several new controls and data tools to Google Maps Timeline. While the update is removing the tool from computers, it brings more tools for editing and deleting your data inside Google Maps. The Google Maps Timeline is available on both Android and iOS devices.

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How to turn on location history on Google Maps

Google Maps’ Timeline feature won’t work unless you’ve given the app permission to track and save your location data. If, after opening Google Maps for the first time, you limit the app’s access to your data, then it won’t have any timeline data saved.

The process for adjusting your location settings varies slightly based on what device you are using.

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Turning on Google Maps Timeline on Android

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. Tap your profile picture, then select Your Timeline.
3. Tap the more menu, then select Settings & Privacy.
4. Scroll to Location Settings, then make sure it says Location is on. If it doesn’t say this, tap Location is off to adjust this setting.

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Turning on Google Maps Timeline on iOS

1. Open the Google Maps app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap your profile picture, then select Your Timeline.
3. Select Personal Content, then scroll to the Location Settings options.
4. Ensure that the Location settings says Location Service is on. If not, tap on Location Service.
5. This opens up the Settings app on your iPhone for the Google Maps app permissions. Adjust the location setting to Always.

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How to see your Google Maps Timeline

Once you’ve turned on location settings and taken a few trips, your Google Maps Timeline will begin to populate with places that you’ve been, allowing you to look back on past trips or gain insight into your driving habits.

While the process for turning on the Google Maps Timeline is slightly different between Android and iOS,