We all love to reminiscence about the places we’ve visited, but did you know that Google Maps has a feature called Location History that will make it easier for you to go down memory lane? This feature in Google’s My Activity page is a great way to see all the places you’ve been. Activating it is quite easy, and you’ll be surprised by the amazing things it can do for you when you want to remember what you did last summer.
How to Turn on Location History in Google Maps
To unlock the many possibilities of Location History in Google Maps, follow these simple steps:
- Visit My Google Activity and log in to your Google account.
- Click on the “Location History” card in the middle.
- Enable “Location History” by clicking “Turn On.” If it is already enabled, that means you’ve previously enabled it.
While privacy concerns related to enabling your Location History might be warranted in some cases, utilizing this feature can beneficial to you in many ways.
4 Useful Things to Do with Google Location History
Once you’ve enabled the Location History option, Google Maps will be able to track your every move and provide you with lists and timelines showcasing your past movements. Here’s some cool things you can do if you have the feature enabled.
1. Take a Trip Down Memory Lane
When you want to go back in time and see all of your past trips, Google Maps Location History can help. You can quickly scroll through your timeline and see all of the places you have been, sorted from most the most recent to older trips. To see this, follow these steps:
- Go to your My Google Activity page. Click “Location History.”
- From there, click “Manage History.” This will lead you to a new Google Maps page.
- Go to the Timeline section located in the upper-left corner of the screen. Here you can input the specifics: the year, month, and day you want to go back to. This will show a list of places you visited during that particular date, which will be shown at the bottom.
2. Do a Back-Trail of Your Recently Visited Places
By turning on your location history on Google Maps, you can also easily and accurately recall the most recent places you visited. Here’s what you should do:
- In Google Maps, click the red box in the lower-left of the screen.
- Doing this will show you a list of all the places you’ve most recently been to.
- Click the arrow on the left side of the timeline to do a back-trail. The places you have visited will also be highlighted by red dots on Google Maps just below the timeline.
3. Manage Your “Saved Places”
With the “Manage Your Personal Places” option in settings, you can see all of your saved places. This includes lists of places you love, you’d like to visit, or downloaded maps for offline use. Here’s how to check them:
- Click the Settings icon located just above the timeline.
- Click “Manage your Personal Spaces” to open a new page.
- The latest places you’ve been are displayed in the “Visited” tab, along with some interesting statistics about your journeys.
This is a fast and easy method of accessing Location timelines without having to remember another link.
4. Email Your Trip Highlights
Google Maps is an incredible tool for navigating the world and exploring new places. With Location History enabled, you can set up email updates so that your most recent trips are automatically documented in a fun way. To set up email updates:
- Click the Settings icon located above the timeline.
- Select “Timeline Settings.”
- A pop-up menu will appear, bearing two options: “Google Photos” and “Timeline Emails.” Checking the first option will enable you to see all the photos and videos that were taken during a specific trip. “Timeline Emails” enables a system to send an email summarizing your recent adventures.
- Once you’ve made your choice, click “Save.”
Using Location History in Google Maps for Mobile
To do some of the things listed above on your mobile phone, it is important that you first turn on “Location History” in your Google Maps app.
- Launch your Google Maps app. Tap your profile icon at the top-right corner of your screen.
- Tap “Settings” from the many options shown on the screen.
- Scroll down the page and select “Personal content” under “Account Settings.”
- Tap “Location History settings” on the screen that follows.
- Press “Turn on” to enable your location history on Google Maps.
Accessing Your Google Maps Location History in the App
If you don’t want to browse your location history on your desktop computer, it’s possible to do it on your mobile device.
- Open the Google Maps app on your mobile device. Select the “Your Timeline” option after tapping your profile icon located in the top-right corner of the display.
- A pop-up menu will display the trips you’ve made during the day.
- Tap the downward arrow next to the word “Today” to open a calendar.
- From here, select the date you wish to go back to.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How long will Google retain my location history?
Google made a major change to its privacy policy back in 2018 when it announced that users’ location history will automatically be deleted after 18 months. Web activity will default back in time as well. Additional options to delete every 3 or 36 months are also available.
2. Can I automatically delete or disable my location history?
On most devices, your location history is turned off by default. Technically, Google does not track your location automatically. The choice is yours whether to utilize this option or not. Once you decide to stop Google from recording your every move, you have to turn it off manually.
3. Can I recover deleted location history?
Unfortunately, you can no longer retrieve your location history once deleted. That’s why we highly recommend checking whether your “Auto Delete” function is on to prevent accidentally losing your data. On the other hand, you can use a data restoration tool to recover it.