How to Export Google Maps Timeline
To export Google Maps Timeline, start on your phone. On Android, go to Settings, Location, Location services, Timeline, then Export Timeline data. On iPhone, open Google Maps, tap your profile picture, then Settings, Location & Privacy, Export Timeline data. Google moved Timeline off its servers and onto your device, so the website and most Takeout exports no longer hold your recent trips.
This guide covers both phones step by step, what the encrypted backup is and is not, when Google Takeout is still worth requesting, which file you end up with, and how to read it once you have it.
Why the export moved to your phone
For years, Timeline lived in your Google account. You could browse it on the web and export all of it from takeout.google.com. Google then moved Timeline to on-device storage: your history is now kept on the phone that recorded it, and Google's help pages state that Timeline is not available for Maps on a computer.
The practical consequence is simple. If your history is recent, the export button is on your phone. Takeout is only useful for history that was still in your account, which for most people means older years they saved before the switch.
How to export Google Maps Timeline on Android
On Android, Timeline is a device setting, so the export lives in the phone's Settings app rather than in Google Maps:
- Open the Settings app on your phone.
- Tap Location, then Location services, then Timeline.
- Under Timeline, tap Export Timeline data, then Continue.
- Choose where to save the file and tap Save. A message confirms Export complete.
The file is usually named Timeline.json, translated into your phone's language. Menu names can vary slightly between Android versions and manufacturers. If you cannot find the entry, search for “Timeline” in the Settings app.
How to export Google Maps Timeline on iPhone
On iPhone, the export sits inside the Google Maps app:
- Open Google Maps and tap your profile picture.
- Tap Settings, then Location & Privacy.
- Tap Export Timeline data.
- In the share sheet, choose Save to Files, pick a folder and tap Save.
According to Google's help page, the iPhone export is saved as location-history.json. From the Files app you can AirDrop it to a Mac, save it to a cloud folder, or open the viewer directly on the phone.
Exported your Timeline? See it on a map.
Drop the file into the Timeline viewer. Reading it is free and happens in your browser.
Open your Timeline fileThe encrypted backup is not an export
In Google Maps, under your profile picture and Your Timeline, a cloud icon at the top opens the Backup setting. When it is on, Maps saves an encrypted copy of your Timeline on Google's servers, so you can restore it on a new phone if you lose or replace this one. Google notes that changes can take a few days to show up in the backup, and its help pages say backup requires auto-delete to be off.
The backup is worth turning on, because without it your history lives on a single device. But it gives you nothing to open, keep or share. Only Export Timeline data produces a file.
When Google Takeout still helps
Takeout still lists Location History (Timeline). It is the right tool in two cases: you exported or kept your history in your account before the move to the phone, or you want the older data that predates it. To request it:
- Go to takeout.google.com and click Deselect all.
- Select only Location History (Timeline).
- Choose ZIP and click Create export.
- Wait for Google's email, then download the archive.
For accounts that completed the move, the archive often contains only a Settings.json file. That is not a broken export: your trips are on your phone. Location-only exports are small and usually quick, see how long Google Takeout takes.
Which file you end up with
Google has shipped several Timeline formats over the years, and the names follow your phone's language:
- Timeline.json from the Android export, with your visits and journeys as semanticSegments.
- location-history.json from the iPhone export.
- Records.json from Takeout: raw GPS points with latitudeE7 and longitudeE7 coordinates.
- Monthly files such as 2023_JANUARY.json from older Takeout exports, holding timelineObjects.
- A CSV version, which some exports offer instead of JSON.
All of them are machine formats: coordinates as integers, timestamps as codes, places as IDs. Opening one in a text editor shows you the data, not your history.
How to read your Timeline export
The Google Maps Timeline viewer opens every format above, including the Takeout ZIP without unzipping it. It identifies a file by what is inside, so a Timeline export saved as Zeitachse.json or Historique.json works the same. It draws every place and journey on a map, shows your statistics year by year, and lists your most visited places.
Reading is free. A one-time payment of $12 unlocks the files you keep: a mileage log in CSV and PDF, spreadsheets of your places and trips, and GPX, KML and GeoJSON files for other mapping tools. The file is read inside your browser tab and never uploaded.
If the export looks thinner than you expected, our guides on Google Maps Timeline missing and how far back Google Maps Timeline goes explain why.
Frequently asked questions
How do I export my Google Maps Timeline on Android?
Open your phone's Settings app, then Location, Location services, Timeline. Under Timeline, tap Export Timeline data, then Continue, choose where to save the file and tap Save. Android confirms with an Export complete message. The file is usually called Timeline.json, or the same word in your phone's language.
How do I export my Google Maps Timeline on iPhone?
Open the Google Maps app, tap your profile picture, then Settings, then Location & Privacy, and choose Export Timeline data. Pick Save to Files in the share sheet, choose a folder and tap Save. Google's help page says the file is named location-history.json.
Can I still export Google Maps Timeline from a computer?
Not the recent history. Since Google moved Timeline onto your phone, Timeline is not available in Maps on a computer and the export has to start on the phone. Takeout at takeout.google.com still offers Location History (Timeline), but for accounts that completed the move it usually holds settings rather than your trips.
Is the Timeline backup the same as an export?
No. The backup is an encrypted copy that Google keeps on its servers so you can restore your Timeline on a new or replacement phone. It is not a file you can download or open. To get a file you can read, keep or share, use Export Timeline data.
What can I do with the exported Timeline file?
Open it in a viewer that reads Google's format. TakeoutReader's Timeline viewer draws every place and journey on a map in your browser, for free, and can turn the journeys into a mileage log or a GPX, KML or GeoJSON file for a one-time payment.
Why is my exported Timeline file almost empty?
Usually because Timeline was off for part of the period, auto-delete removed older history, or you exported from a phone that never recorded it. Our guide on Google Maps Timeline missing walks through each cause.
Read your Google Maps Timeline on a map
Drop Timeline.json, location-history.json, Records.json or the Takeout ZIP. Free to read. $12 one-time for the mileage log, spreadsheets and GPX, KML and GeoJSON files.
Open your Timeline fileRead in your browser. Nothing uploaded. TakeoutReader is not affiliated with Google.