thereiwent

Guide

How to back up your Google Maps Timeline and move it to a new phone

Your Timeline now lives on your phone. Lose the phone, reset it or switch to a new one, and years of history can disappear unless you've prepared. There are two protections, and it's worth having both.

Protection 1: Google's Timeline backup

Google Maps can keep an encrypted backup of your Timeline in your Google account. It's off by default, so you need to turn it on.

Turn it on

  1. Open Google Maps, tap your profile picture, then Your Timeline.
  2. Tap the cloud icon at the top right.
  3. If auto-delete is on, you'll be asked to turn it off first; Google requires this before backup can be switched on. Choose Don't auto-delete activity.
  4. Turn on Backup and confirm.

It can take a few days for recent changes to reach the backup, so don't rely on it for the last day or two before a phone change.

Restore it on a new phone

  1. Sign in to Google Maps on the new phone with the same Google account.
  2. Open Your Timeline and tap the cloud icon.
  3. Choose the backup from your old device and follow the prompts to import it.

If you can't find a backup, check you're signed in to the right Google account; a backup made under another account won't appear.

Protection 2: your own export file

Google's backup ties your history to one company's service. An export is a plain file that you control. Every few months, or before changing phones, export your Timeline and save the file somewhere safe: a computer, an external drive, or private cloud storage. Old exports remain readable even if the app, the phone or the backup is gone, and you can open them any time in There I Went, including several at once.

The file contains your precise location history, so keep it private.

Before you switch phones: a checklist

  1. Check auto-delete (Your Timeline → ⋯ → Location & privacy settings → Auto-delete Timeline) so nothing old is about to be removed.
  2. Make sure Backup is on, and give it a few days to catch up.
  3. Export a file as well, and keep it somewhere other than the phone.
  4. Only then reset or hand over the old phone.

If it's too late

If the old phone is gone and backup was off, the history on that phone can't be recovered. It's still worth checking for an old Google Takeout zip you may have downloaded before Timeline moved to phones, which can hold years of earlier history. See what's in each Timeline file.