Google Maps will have new features to give you more control over your personal data. You will be able to store your history locally on your device and delete activity for specific locations.
Google services are known to be particularly voracious of personal data, and Google Maps is no exception. The mapping application knows absolutely everything about your movements: where you are going, how you get there, the places you have visited as well as those which interested you. Particularly sensitive information, and which we do not necessarily want to share with the Web giant. Also, as he announces in a blog postGoogle wants to give you more control over some of your personal data, by adding ways to control your location data, and particularly your travel history.
Google Maps: a location history stored locally
Your location history is turned off by default for all Google Maps users. If you have chosen to activate it, it will record all your movements and log all the places you have been to. This data is saved in the cloud, on Google servers, and can then be consulted through the Your journeys function. But, thanks to a future update, you will be able to choose to store them locally, on your device. You can always make a backup, end-to-end encrypted, in the cloud if you wish, but everything will be kept by default on your smartphone’s memory. Local recording of your journeys will be deployed in 2024.
Next year, Google will also shorten the default time before your location history is automatically deleted from eighteen months to three months. Those who wish can of course change this parameter. In the meantime, you can now enable or disable your location history and automatic deletion of data through “Activity controls” in your Google account.
Google Maps: shortcuts to manage your personal data
Other new features relating to the control of your private life are also on the table. This way, you will be able to delete all data relating to a specific location directly in the application. Currently, you can delete a location from your Timeline quite easily: just tap “Delete” in the location overview. However, if you used Google Maps to view that location or get directions there, that data will continue to exist in your Google activity. Thanks to a future update, you will be able to delete all this information at once. Google suggests that such an option may be convenient if you ” plan a surprise birthday“, but it can be useful if you have a loved one who is a little too curious or intrusive, like one of your parents or your partner for example – it could also be of great help to victims of domestic abuse, who might want to quickly clear all their activity related to a particular location. This function will be available“in the coming weeks”.
Finally, the latest update, which is currently rolling out, offers shortcuts to the device’s location options and location history. Right now, tapping the blue dot in Google Maps opens a shortcut window for saving your parking or sharing your location. The web giant adds options for device location and location history. Here again, you will probably have to wait a few weeks to benefit from it.