This is no secret Google, as well as other large technology companies, know a lot About you. Probably a lot more than you think they do. And while it’s really creepy, it can sometimes produce short results, before it’s creepy again. Case: You can start the year by crawling Google Maps.
As spotted by 9to5Google, Google Maps is currently launching its “Timeline Update for 2020”, an email that gives you an overview of where you’ve been based on your location history. Although this summary is also available monthly, the 2020 update will show what your travel habits have looked like over the past year.
Yes, 2020 was the year of the coronavirus pandemic, which severely affected travel and movement in general, and Google recognizes so much.
“COVID-19 changed the journey in the world in 2020 and how many places people could visit,” reads the email via 9to5Google. “If you were able to travel this year, you could use this automated timeline email to see some places you’ve been.”
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Although our travel life has been hampered by the pandemic, it can still be interesting to see where we have managed to go. According to 9to5Google, the update includes a map with the cities and places you’ve traveled to, as well as a new section called ‘Trends’. This section tells you what type of places you went to, such as places to go shopping or eating. The Google Maps timeline also lets you know how many miles you have walked and traveled.
In order to use this feature, you must have the location history enabled in your Google Account settings. (I do not, so I searched for this summary foolishly for some time and got no results). However, if other settings such as Web and app activity are turned on, Google may still store your location data while using its websites, applications and services, even if you have interrupted your Location History or deleted your location data, according to the company’s support pages for the function.
On its support page for the feature, Google says that you can edit your timeline or delete your location history, as well as the timings, at any time.
Fortunately, Google says that your timeline is not available to everyone. It’s private and only you can see it on mobiles and desktops.
All in all, kind of cool, but also a little creepy. It is up to you to decide how a feature like this makes you feel. Maybe you like to see your data break out like that. But if you do not, you can always put it off.
[9to5Google]