TimelineMap.app

How to export your Google Maps Timeline

Updated

Since the end of 2024, your Google Maps Timeline lives on your phone, not on Google's website. To see it on a big map you first export it from the phone as a JSON file, then open that file with TimelineMap. Your file is processed on your device and never uploaded to our servers.

The export takes about a minute. The menu names below match the current versions of Android and the Google Maps app; they move around now and then, so if a label looks slightly different, look for the closest match.

On Android

There are two ways to reach the same export button. Use whichever you find first.

From the phone's Settings

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap Location, then Location services.
  3. Tap Timeline.
  4. Tap Export Timeline data.
  5. Choose where to save the file (for example Downloads or Google Drive) and tap Save.
The Timeline entry sits under Location services in Android Settings.

From the Google Maps app

  1. Open Google Maps and tap your profile picture (top right).
  2. Tap Your Timeline.
  3. Tap the ⋮ menu (top right), then Location and privacy settings.
  4. Scroll down and tap Export Timeline data, then save the file.
The export button is near the bottom of Location and privacy settings.

The file is usually called Timeline.json. It covers everything stored on the phone, which can be many years if your history was moved over from the old web Timeline.

On iPhone

  1. Open the Google Maps app and tap your profile picture.
  2. Tap Your Timeline.
  3. Tap the ⋯ menu, then Location & privacy settings.
  4. Tap Export Timeline data.
  5. The share sheet opens. Pick Save to Files to keep the JSON on the phone or in iCloud Drive, or send it straight to another app such as AirDrop or Mail.
On iPhone the export arrives through the share sheet; Save to Files is the simplest choice.

The iPhone file has a slightly different structure from the Android one. TimelineMap detects both automatically, so you don't need to do anything special. The details are on What's in the file.

Getting the file to your computer

TimelineMap works on phones too, but a large history is much nicer on a big screen. Any of these will do:

  • Cloud storage: save the export to Google Drive, iCloud Drive or Dropbox, then download it on the computer.
  • USB cable (Android): connect the phone, choose File transfer, and copy the file from the Download folder.
  • AirDrop (iPhone to Mac): pick AirDrop in the share sheet when you export.
  • Email to yourself: fine for small files. Larger exports often exceed attachment limits.

Remember that this file is a detailed record of where you have been. Delete stray copies from shared folders and chats once you have what you need.

Old Google Takeout files

Before the change, location history could be downloaded from Google Takeout. If you kept one of those archives, it still works. Unzip it and look inside Takeout/Location History (sometimes Location History (Timeline)):

  • Records.json: every raw location point, often the largest file.
  • Semantic Location History/2019/2019_MARCH.json and similar: one file per month with visits and trips. You can drop the whole folder at once.

You can open an old Takeout file and a new phone export together. Combining them into one history is part of the one-time unlock; duplicates are removed by time.

What if Timeline was turned off?

Then there is nothing to export for that period. Google only records Timeline while the setting is on, and as far as we know no data can be recovered for times when it was off, not from Google, the phone or any third-party tool. Be wary of anyone who promises otherwise.

If you want a history from now on, turn Timeline on in the same settings screen described above. Also check the auto-delete option there: if it is set to 3, 18 or 36 months, older entries are removed automatically, so export regularly if you want to keep them.

Encrypted backups in Google Maps

Google Maps can keep an encrypted cloud backup of your Timeline (look for Backup in the Timeline settings). It is useful, but it is not a file you can download. The backup can only be restored into the Google Maps app on a phone signed in to your account, for example after you get a new phone. To get a file, restore the backup on the phone first, then use Export Timeline data as above.

Why there is no web export anymore

In December 2024 Google moved Timeline onto the phone. Your history is now stored on the device (with the optional encrypted backup) instead of on Google's servers. As a result:

  • The Timeline page on the Google Maps website no longer shows your history.
  • Google Takeout no longer offers a full location history download.
  • The only way to get your data out is the export button in the phone settings or the Google Maps app.

The upside is that your history stays with you. The downside is that Google gives you a JSON file and no way to view it on a computer. That gap is what TimelineMap fills.

Next step

Open your file in TimelineMap to see your map, heatmap, trips and yearly stats. Curious what the file actually contains? Read What's in your Timeline export.