Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Shutterstock/Ratchapoln
every move you make

Google Maps knows where you've been and it's making it easier for you to check

But you can disable location tracking pretty easily if you want.

GOOGLE HAS UPDATED its locations feature, making it easier for users to see what locations they visited and the times they were there.

Timeline is essentially a revamped version of location history, making it easier for users to check and understand where they’ve been and the information Google has. The setting is rolling out to Android and desktop and appears to those who have location history activated.

In a blog post announcing the change, product manager Gerald Sanz said that timeline is only visible to the user and you can delete a full day or history if you want.

Your Timeline allows you to visualize your real-world routines, easily see the trips you’ve taken and get a glimpse of the places where you spend your time. And if you use Google Photos, we’ll show the photos you took when viewing a specific day, to help resurface your memories.

2015-07-15 13_47_42 Google Latlong Google Latlong

While location history is used for a number of services like Google Now, chances are you might not like the idea of this. If you don’t, then there are ways to turn it off for both iOS and Android.

iOS

  • Go into settings > Privacy > Location Services.
  • Scroll down to Google Maps and turn off location tracking.

Android

  • Go into Settings > Location.
  • Scroll down to the bottom to Location History. Select it and you will have the option to turn it off.
  • If you want to go a step further, you can delete your location history at the bottom on the same screen.

If you want to remove your history on Google itself, go into My Account, click ‘Personal Info & History’ and scroll down until you see the Places You Go tab.

personal info and privacy Google Google

Read: Lost in translation? This Irish language-tech startup is here to help >

Read: YouTube is addressing one of the biggest problems with mobile videos >

Your Voice
Readers Comments
23
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.