Google to begin Deleting Users’ Location History

Google has said the company will delete everything it knows about users’ previously visited locations, a year after it committed to reducing the amount of personal data it stores about users.

Previously known as Location History, the company’s ‘timeline’ feature will still work for those who choose to use it.

This would let them scroll through potentially decades of travel history to check where they were at a specific time.

But all the data required to make the feature work will be saved locally, to their own phones or tablets, with none of it being stored on the company’s servers.

In an email sent by the company to Maps users, Google said they have until December 1, 2024, to save all their old journeys before it is deleted forever.

Users will still be able to back up their data if they are worried about losing it or want to sync it across devices but that will no longer happen by default.

The company is also reducing the default amount of time that location history is stored for.

Now, it will begin to delete past locations after just three months, down from a previous default of a year and a half.

In a blogpost announcing the changes, Google didn’t cite a specific reason for the updates, beyond suggesting that users may want to delete information from their location history if they are “planning a surprise birthday party”.

The company added: “Your location information is personal.

“We’re committed to keeping it safe, private and in your control.

“Remember: Google Maps never sells your data to anyone, including advertisers.”

However, Google has come under mounting pressure to help users preserve their location history in the face of aggressive law enforcement efforts to weaponise its stored information.

For instance, so-called “dragnet” surveillance requests have compelled Google to hand over information about every user in a particular region at a particular time, necessarily including many with no other link to a crime beyond a ping from a GPS signal.

The clashes came after the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade, which had guaranteed the right to abortion for Americans.

The company committed to deleting information about searches for abortion clinics to protect women from being criminalised based on their search history.