Google Maps Timeline Missing? Why It Happens and What You Can Recover
A missing Google Maps Timeline almost always has one of six causes, and the biggest is Google's move of Timeline from its servers to your phone. History that was not kept before your account's deadline was deleted. The others are auto-delete, Timeline never being on, a new phone without a backup, the wrong account, and a Takeout export that holds only settings.
Below, each cause with the sign that gives it away, then an honest answer on what can be recovered. Short version: anything you still have a copy of can be read, and anything Google deleted cannot be brought back.
1. Timeline moved to your phone and the old history was deleted
Google moved Timeline from your Google account to on-device storage. Each account was notified and given a deadline, roughly six months after the notice, and press reports of Google's emails put the final date at 9 June 2025. After the deadline, Google said it would try to move the last 90 days of Timeline to the first phone you signed into, and delete anything older that had not been saved.
The sign: your Timeline starts a few months before the deadline, or Timeline vanished from the website entirely. Google's help pages confirm Timeline is no longer available in Maps on a computer.
2. Auto-delete removed older history
Timeline has an auto-delete setting that removes history older than 3, 18 or 36 months, or keeps it until you delete it. Since the 2024 move to on-device storage, it defaults to 3 months when you turn Timeline on (it was 18 months from June 2020). Defaults checked October 2026.
The sign: your Timeline always reaches back the same distance, for example exactly three months, and older days are blank. To check, open Google Maps, tap your profile picture, then Your Timeline, the menu, Location & privacy settings, and Auto-delete Timeline. See how far back Google Maps Timeline goes for the details.
3. Timeline was never switched on
Google's help pages say Timeline is off by default and can only be turned on if you opt in. If it was never on for your account, Google never recorded where you went, and switching it on now only records from today.
The sign: no history at all, on any device, and your account's Timeline control at myactivity.google.com/activitycontrols/location shows it off.
4. A new phone without a backup
Now that Timeline lives on the device, history recorded on your old phone stays there. The encrypted backup, under the cloud icon in Your Timeline, is what lets a new phone restore it. If backup was off when you switched, the new phone starts empty.
The sign: your Timeline starts on the day you set up your current phone. If you still have the old one, export the Timeline from it before resetting it.
5. You are signed into another Google account
Timeline belongs to one Google account. If Google Maps is open on a work account, a second personal account, or an account you created later, you are looking at that account's Timeline, which may be empty.
The sign: the profile picture in Google Maps is not the one you expect. Tap it and switch accounts.
Not sure which case is yours?
Drop your Timeline file or Takeout ZIP into the viewer. If there is no history in it, the viewer reads your settings and tells you why.
Check your Timeline export6. Your Takeout export contains only settings
Many people request Location History (Timeline) from Google Takeout and get back a tiny archive with a single Settings.json file. For accounts that completed the move to the phone, that is expected: the trips are on the device, not in the account. For accounts where Timeline was never on, there is simply nothing to export.
The Google Maps Timeline viewer reads that Settings.json instead of rejecting it. It says whether Timeline has ever been switched on for the account, whether it is on but the export holds no history, whether any of your devices ever reported a location, which devices have stopped reporting or hold no saved Timeline data, and how many days of history your settings keep.
What can and cannot be recovered
It is worth being blunt here, because plenty of sites promise otherwise.
- Recoverable: a backup. If Timeline backup was on, sign into the same account in Google Maps on your phone and restore it.
- Recoverable: a file you saved. An earlier Timeline export, or a Takeout archive you downloaded before the deadline, still holds everything it held then. Search your downloads, cloud storage and old computers for files named Timeline.json, location-history.json, Records.json or takeout-*.zip.
- Recoverable: an old phone. If the history is on a device you still have, export it from that device.
- Not recoverable: deleted history. History removed by auto-delete or by the migration deadline is gone. Google cannot restore it, and no tool can rebuild it.
- Not recoverable: days Timeline was off. Nothing was recorded, so there is nothing to find.
Some location traces survive elsewhere, for example geotagged photos in Google Photos or Maps searches in your Search history. They are not a Timeline, but a full Takeout report shows what they hold.
How to keep it from happening again
- Turn on the backup in Google Maps under Your Timeline, so a lost phone does not take your history with it.
- Set auto-delete deliberately. Three months is the default, not a choice you made.
- Export once in a while. A Timeline file on your own storage does not depend on any phone or setting.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my Google Maps Timeline disappear?
The most common reason is Google's move of Timeline from its servers to your phone. Accounts were given a deadline, and history that was not kept by then was deleted, apart from roughly the last 90 days that Google said it would try to move to your phone. Other causes are auto-delete, Timeline never having been switched on, a new phone without a backup, or being signed into a different Google account.
Can I recover a deleted Google Maps Timeline?
Only from a copy. If Timeline backup was on, you can restore it on a phone signed into the same account. If you exported your Timeline or saved a Takeout archive before the deletion, that file still holds it. History removed by auto-delete or by the migration deadline cannot be restored by Google or by any tool.
Why can't I see Timeline on my computer anymore?
Because Timeline no longer exists on the web. Google's help pages say Timeline is not available for Maps on a computer. It now lives in the Google Maps app on the phone that recorded it.
My Takeout export has no Timeline in it. Why?
For accounts that moved Timeline onto the phone, Takeout usually contains only a Settings.json file, because the trips are no longer in the account. If Timeline was never switched on, there is nothing to export at all. The Timeline viewer reads that Settings.json and tells you which case applies.
Does a new phone bring my Timeline with it?
Only if Timeline backup was on before you switched, and you sign into the same Google account on the new phone. Without the backup, the history stayed on the old device. If you still have the old phone, export the Timeline from it.
How do I stop my Timeline from disappearing again?
Turn on the encrypted backup in Google Maps, set auto-delete to the period you actually want, and export your Timeline from time to time. An exported file is the only copy that does not depend on a phone or a setting.
Find out what your Timeline export still holds
Drop Timeline.json, location-history.json, Records.json or the Takeout ZIP. See every place and journey that survived, or why there are none. Free to read, in your browser.
Open your Timeline fileRead in your browser. Nothing uploaded. TakeoutReader is not affiliated with Google.