I finally went through Google Maps' location settings, and I had no idea how much it remembers

Published Sep 6, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT Megan is a Software Writer at XDA Developers who has been writing about consumer technology since 2016. With a postgraduate degree in New Media journalism, she has always been passionate about diving deep into topics and writing about them in a way that makes them easier to understand for everyday consumers. She runs her own blog called Tech Valkyrie and has contributed to Tom's Guide and Android Authority. She also worked at MakeUseOf as a Lead Editor. In her spare time she plays video games and geeks out about the latest tech. Google Maps and location data go hand-in-hand. After all, Google Maps can't navigate without you enabling certain location settings. But you may be surprised by just how much it keeps track of, from your quick searches to the places you visit during the month. This is even more prominent when Timeline is enabled. It was only when I took the time to look at Google Maps' summary of my recent places and my location settings that I realized how much the app was tracking. And it made me wonder how much privacy I'm willing to compromise. Google Maps saves every search and visit It's not only your general location Part of the reason I have the Timeline feature enabled on Google Maps is because I use the Google Opinion Rewards app to earn Play Store credit by answering surveys. I knew this meant Maps would get a general sense of my location from my phone, but I didn't realize the extent of the tracking. Out of curiosity, though, I recently looked at my travel history on Google Maps. The results were a lot more detailed than I expected. For example, when I scrolled through my timeline visits for the past week, I noticed that the app doesn't simply record my location or when I visit a saved address. It pinpointed the very shop I went into yesterday to buy some tuna for my cat after her vet visit. It also noted that I had stopped in a park for around 20 minutes during the day. This was all without opening Google Maps at all, since I have all these locations memorized. The last time I paid attention to my Timeline history, the locations were still very general. But now I can see the exact stores I visited within a shopping center with unnerving precision. I also saw that every search I performed in the app, or place I viewed, was saved in my history. Places I had already forgotten about, Google Maps remembered. It inspired me to check my location settings to see just how much I'm sharing. How to access Google Maps location settings Get an idea of what Google's saving If you're curious about how to access your own location settings, the good news is that they're easy to find once you know where to look. However, these settings do more than track your own location; they also control whether your search history is saved. To access these settings, open Google Maps, click on your profile icon, then select Settings > Location and privacy. Here, you can tweak the location data you share with Google Maps. For example, you can choose whether you want to enable the Timeline feature or delete your Timeline data. Some notable settings include the ability to turn off Personalized recommendations in Maps or get rid of your Maps history. I turned these off, partly because I'm curious whether it will improve my Maps experience. You can also select how often Google Maps accesses your location in your device location settings. However, I noticed that even though my settings were set to Allowed while using the app, Timeline being enabled means the app receives constant location updates. Seeing how much Maps tracks has left me in a bit of a conundrum Timeline throws location privacy out the window My first instinct after viewing my Timeline and location settings was to switch off the feature. This would only allow Google Maps to track me when I use it. But to use the Google Opinion Rewards app, I need to enable Timeline. This is because the app delivers surveys based on the places I've visited. I've used it without Timeline enabled before, but you basically never get surveys if you do this. Even turning off personalized ads in your Google Account settings affects the number of surveys you get. Overall, it's an experience of trading over your privacy in order to earn credit. However, I've gone ahead with turning off personalized recommendations in Maps, as well as my Maps history. These don't really serve me, especially since I try to ignore the many ads in Google Maps. I also want to try out specific features in the app that help me remember important locations without relying on my search history. At this point, I feel like the sheer amount of data the app collects benefits Google far more than it benefits me. When I first enabled Timeline, its location history felt general enough to not feel too invasive. But now that it pinpoints which shops I visit, I feel like the data is exactly the kind that companies use for targeted ads. It no longer feels like a low-stakes summary of my outings. Check Google Maps to see if you're comfortable with how much it's tracking If you're like me and haven't reviewed your location settings in some time, I'd recommend checking how much Google Maps records. Check whether you have the Timeline feature enabled, and decide whether you find it valuable enough to keep its persistent tracking enabled. However, if you're not comfortable with the specificity of your recent places page, then I recommend tweaking your settings or switching to a Google Maps alternative.