PSA: Google Location History

If like me you like to know what shenanigans you were up to 10 years ago then you will have to tell google to keep this history or your timeline gets deleted.

I am kind of glad they cant see my history of where I have been and sell it to the Russians / Asda

I was bored sat in the car waiting for a football match a couple of weeks back when I realised just how much data they get from you using Google maps if you are signed in. I set it up to limit as much as possible

I spend my entire life going to places I don’t want to go to just to confuse them.

Turns out I’m not fussed about knowing here I was x period of time ago…so quite happy that is gets deleted. Each month (currently) I get an email to show me where I’ve been over the last month…and every month, I’ve got a dot located about 60 miles away from where I have been – I’ve not been to that dot location, but every month it claims I have been there. I didn’t think mobile cell towers were as powerful as that so really unsure why I’d be connecting to something that far away when there are far closer towers.

If like me you like to know what shenanigans you were up to 10 years ago then you will have to tell google to keep this history or your timeline gets deleted

Set here, or somewhere else?

Mine will be extremely random with locations across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear as well as Durham at various times of day, days and completely sporadic each day. Apart from the last year where it’s be mainly my home town and Newcastle.

I’ve always been quite interested in seeing this data as I travel quite often with work. I also quite like the feature that some colleagues appear to have on IPhone (I think?) that pings them about traffic on the way home. I’m far to suspicious to give all that data to google or anyone else, so I’ve always had all the settings turned off.

I spend my entire life going to places I don’t want to go to just to confuse them.

Me too. I call it work

I am kind of glad they cant see my history of where I have been and sell it to the Russians / Asda

I was bored sat in the car waiting for a football match a couple of weeks back when I realised just how much data they get from you using Google maps if you are signed in. I set it up to limit as much as possible

I trust you don’t use for example their traffic or route planning then?
Because if you’re not willing to let them have your data, you really shouldn’t be using functions created by other people’s data

will this work in defence of two spanish speeding tickets i got last month, i guess the same driver who got me a dart tunnel charge

Apart from the last year where it’s be mainly my home town and Newcastle.

Pop a tracker on the dog… would give a more accurate record of your travels.

= ;87)

I want to keep my history but I’ve not had an email or prompt to do anything?

Anyone now of the particular setting involved here?

I love having it, reminds me of places I’ve been, holidays etc, links pictures and events. Brilliant.

Anyone now of the particular setting involved here?

I think it might be under Activity controls?

Go into your account icon on your app. Scroll down to “Your Timeline”. The relevant permissions pages should pop up.

Pop a tracker on the dog… would give a more accurate record of your travels.

😀

Pub stops across the UK.

every month, I’ve got a dot located about 60 miles away from where I have been – I’ve not been to that dot location, but every month it claims I have been there. I didn’t think mobile cell towers were as powerful as that so really unsure why I’d be connecting to something that far away when there are far closer towers

My guess would be it’s the location of a data centre that your ISP uses when you’re on wifi at home or work.

A few people raging about this online as, for whatever reason they like to export this data and apparently, once you agree to the “on device Timeline”, this is no longer possible (including historic data).

There was a massive ‘thing’ about this while I was in South Africa almost exactly 10 years ago. It looks like I switched it off then and it is still off now. I might switch it back on as Apple Maps must do the same and I use that all the time.

I trust you don’t use for example their traffic or route planning then?

Because if you’re not willing to let them have your data, you really shouldn’t be using functions created by other people’s data.

Turned my timeline data off completely but happy to use Google maps & traffic data as I’m pretty sure that’s based on having location turned on, even if it wasn’t I’d be happy enough to make use of other people’s data if they’ve signed up. I just trust my brain to remember where I’ve been in the past.

 when I realised just how much data they get from you using Google maps if you are signed in

I once paused outside a restaurant that I’d never been near in my life, to read the menu in the window. Hadn’t searched for it on my phone or done anything with it.

Within minutes of me stopping to read the menu in the window, I was getting adverts for that restaurant in my social media feeds

came in handy when i had to defend my self against two shitty carparking operating companies.

I visited the same place twice in one day and they fined me as if i had stayed on site.