Google confirms it deleted Maps Timeline data for some

Google Maps users have recently been complaining on places like Reddit that their Timeline data — the app’s historical record of where they’ve been — had disappeared. Now, Google has confirmed that it accidentally deleted the data and that anyone who wasn’t using Google’s cloud backups is out of luck.

Google spokesperson Genevieve Park provided this statement in an email to The Verge:

We briefly experienced a technical issue that caused the deletion of Timeline data for some people. Nearly everyone with encrypted Timeline backups will be able to restore their data; unfortunately those who did not have backups enabled will not be able to recover lost data.

In a Reddit post that Android Authority spotted, users reported getting a similar statement in an email from Google that included instructions for recovering the data for those who’d turned on the app’s cloud backup feature. To see if it’s on for you, tap your user icon in the iOS or Android Google Maps app, then “Your timeline,” and look for a cloud icon with either an arrow inside of it (on) or a line through it (off). You can tap the icon to change your backup settings.

Google warned users last summer that it was switching to on-device storage for Google Maps location data. That meant you could keep track of your Maps location history without having it tracked on Google’s servers, which is great for privacy but comes with the risk of it abruptly vanishing, as Google’s “technical issue” shows. And unfortunately, while Google Maps lets you export location history data to a file, Google’s instructions for recovering Timeline data include no obvious way to reimport the data that doesn’t involve the cloud backup servers.

Update March 23rd: Updated with confirmation from Google spokesperson Genevieve Park.