Like New Year greetings, the window for apps and services to send 2019 recaps is winding down. Google Maps this week has been emailing a “2019 Timeline update” chock-full of location and travel statistics.
The Google Maps Timeline is one of the more useful things generated by Google’s Location History tracking. If enabled on your device/account, it’s also leveraged by Google services to provide restaurant reservation in the “For you” tab, faster commute suggestions, and other personalized information.
You’re receiving this email because you turned on Location History, a Google Account–level setting that saves where you go in your private Timeline.
Google Maps sends out a similar monthly update, but most will find this year-in-review more interesting. It starts by plotting on a map “Your visits in 2019,” which is broken down by country, city, and place, as well as how many are new from the year prior.
“Your activity” shows walking and vehicle commutes by distance and time. Next up are city, place, and trip highlights that feature cover images from Maps. Each can be clicked to open the Timeline for the day of your visit. The accuracy of this places list is dependent on you confirming a visit instead of just relying on where Maps thinks you are.
Rounding out the Google Maps 2019 Timeline is how much you traveled “around the world,” as well as “your all time data.” At the very bottom are shortcuts to manage Location History (by viewing, editing, or deleting entries) and the activity control to pause tracking entirely.
One of our Google Accounts first received the Maps 2019 timeline recap on Tuesday, with the rest coming in over the course of today. Stay tuned to your inbox if one hasn’t been generated yet.
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