Short answer
Google Maps Timeline is exported from the Google Maps app on your phone. On Android: phone Settings, Location, Location services, Timeline, Export Timeline data. On iPhone: Google Maps, your profile picture, Settings, Personal content, Export Timeline data. You get one JSON file with your whole history.
How do I export Timeline on Android?
- Open your phone's Settings, then Location.
- Tap Location services, then Timeline.
- Tap Export Timeline data and choose where to save the file.
- You get a file usually named
Timeline.json. Send it to your computer, or open it from the phone.
Menu names vary a little between phone makers; searching "Timeline" in Settings finds it.
How do I export Timeline on iPhone?
- Open Google Maps and tap your profile picture.
- Tap Settings, then Personal content.
- Tap Export Timeline data and save the file to Files or share it to your computer.
- The file is usually named
location-history.json.
What about Google Takeout?
Older history, recorded before your account moved Timeline to the phone, may still be in a Google Takeout archive under Location History. A Takeout ZIP works too: the Google Maps Timeline mileage log reads the ZIP directly.
How far back does Google Maps Timeline go?
Only as far as it was on, and only as long as auto-delete keeps it. On many phones auto-delete is set to 3 months. To keep everything from now on: Google Maps, your profile picture, Your Timeline, then the settings: set auto-delete to "Don't auto-delete activity" and turn on the encrypted backup.
What if the export does not cover the year I need?
- Open Google Maps, then Timeline, and scroll to the year: if the days are empty there, they are empty in the export.
- If you have an encrypted cloud backup of Timeline, restore it on the phone before exporting.
- If you switched phones, export from the old phone if you still have it.
- Gaps can be completed from other records made at the time. Our guide on the forgot to track mileage for taxes explains which.
Common questions
Why is my Timeline missing from Google Takeout?
Google moved Timeline to your phone. For accounts that made the switch, Takeout no longer contains your recent location history: the export is done from Google Maps on the phone itself, as described above.
My export is empty or very small. Why?
Timeline only holds what was recorded while Location History (now called Timeline) was on, and only on that phone. If you changed phones without a backup, older history may be on the old device or lost. Check the date range in Google Maps before exporting.
Is the export file safe to share?
It contains every place you went, so treat it like a private document. TimelineMileage reads it in your browser without uploading it; be careful with services that ask you to upload it.