How To Turn Off Google Maps' Your Timeline Tracking Feature

Earlier this year, Google introduced a new feature to mobile users called Your Timeline. The feature—which is integrated into the Google Maps app on iOS and Android and available for desktop users—is designed to help users remember where they have been... by tracking their every move.

Your Timeline has been available for Android and desktop users of Google Maps since 2015 and rolled out to iOS users earlier this year, though to little fanfare. Most users likely are unaware of the feature and just how precisely it can track their location.

The feature has to be turned on by users, but some may have accidentally enabled it after updating the Google Maps app and quickly clicking through the information about new features that included details about Your Timeline or by activating other features like Google Now—a popular, predictive Android feature that serves users recommendations based on their preferences and activity.

Your Timeline is essentially an always-on location tracking feature that checks in on where a user has been by tapping GPS, Wi-Fi and cell tower data in order to create a detailed map of their locations in case they want to retrace their steps on any given day—a feature that could prove handy in some situations, but is generally invasive and present a potential privacy concern.

Google notes that a user’s timeline is private so only the user can see it, but the company does not specify if it collects or uses the data in any way or if that data can be used for any other purposes, including advertising. It also does not delineate if the data from Your Timeline is stored anonymously—though even if it does, location data can be particularly revealing and possible to connect to an individual.

How To Turn Off Goolgle Maps Your Timeline On Android

For Android users, it’s more likely Your Timeline may have been activated in order to interact with other Google features. To check if the location tracking feature is on, open the Settings app, go to the Location menu and open the Google Location History. This will show if the setting is turned on and what Google has recorded so far.

In order to turn off the feature, go to the Settings app, open the Location menu, tap Google Location History and select the “off” option.

To check to make sure the feature is turned off in the Google Maps app, open the app, tap the Menu, and tap Your Timeline. Tap the more option, which looks like three dots stacked vertically, and tap Settings. From here, there should be a line of text that says “Location History is off.”

It is also possible to delete history from Your Timeline. To do so, return to the Google Maps app, tap the menu and open Your Timeline. Tap the more icon and open Settings. Scroll to “Location settings.” Here, there should be an option to delete history. Select the range of time you would like to delete, or delete everything by tapping the “Delete all Location History” option.

How To Turn Off Google Maps Tracking On iOS

For iPhone and iPad users, the process is similar. Open the Google Maps, tap the menu and go to Settings. From here, tap the Personal content option and scroll down to the “Location settings” heading. There should be an option regarding Location Services. If it says Location Services is on, select the option and turn off the Location permissions for the app.

To delete all location history on iOS, open the Google Maps app. Tap the Menu and go to Settings. Tap Personal content and scroll down to “Location settings.” Select “Delete Location History range” to remove certain dates from Your Timeline or select “Delete all Location History” to clear every location Google has tracked.