Location data deleted: Google Maps timeline disappears for many
Google Maps should only save the timeline on request and locally. Something went wrong, data is irretrievably gone.
(Image: I AM NIKOM/Shutterstock.com)
Google first announced a long time ago that it would no longer store location data from Google Maps in the cloud. Another reminder followed at the end of the year. Now there have apparently been problems with the implementation.
The changeover actually has advantages for people's data protection. Google should no longer be able to view the location data and therefore no longer be able to query it from the authorities. Nevertheless, the timeline data, as it is called in English, has apparently become dear to many people. And now it's gone. Google confirms the error.
The timeline, as the function is called in German, shows a fairly accurate movement profile of account holders. It had to be switched on in order to access this data across all devices. Google wanted to change this. The data should only be stored in the app and locally if desired. Users were notified that they had to agree to the change and that their data would otherwise be deleted.
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Another option was an encrypted backup of the timeline data in the cloud. This should also allow the data to be transferred to other devices. Anyone who has made this backup is now one of the lucky people who still has access to the data. They can apparently be restored. Anyone who has not used a backup may have lost their data.
Google confirms deleted data
However, it is unclear exactly who the problem affects. There are numerous complaints on social networks and in the Google Maps help section. However, not all of them are really justified. Some users are complaining that their data is gone, even though they apparently did not read the notice properly. They did not ensure that their data was saved locally.
Other people say they made the change, but the data is still gone. Now a Google spokeswoman has told The Verge, "We briefly had a technical issue that resulted in the deletion of Timeline data for some people. Almost everyone who has encrypted Timeline backups can restore their data; unfortunately, those who don't have backups enabled can't restore the lost data."
(emw)
