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Google Maps location data allows you to search for your history which is useful when you plan to travel or visit the place again.
Google has confirmed the issue which is not easy to recover for everyone. (Photo: AI generated).
Maps are useful to help you navigate the traffic on the way to work or head over for your next big vacation by road. But some users saw all their Maps history data missing from their account recently, about which Google has finally confirmed the issue and what caused this deletion.
Google has been quoted saying that it accidentally deleted Maps data of its users and only some of you will be able to get them back. The company does offer the option of saving Maps data on the cloud but that means it gets stored on the Google cloud server which many weren’t keen to do.
Maps Data Gone: What Now?
So what caused this major lapse at Google that deleted the Maps data for many users? Google, quoted by The Verge said, this was a technical issue that simply deleted the timeline data on Maps for some users.
The company did not reveal what was the issue and how many people were included in the ‘some’ but there is a mix of good and bad news with this situation. Google says Maps data can be easily restored, if you had it backed up to the Google cloud with your account. And if you did not have the cloud settings enabled on Maps for your Google account, your data is gone forever.
You can check for this setting with the following steps
– Open Maps on your Android or iOS device
– Tap on the profile icon (your photo)
– Click on Your Timeline
– You will see the cloud icon disabled or enabled
– Tap on the backup option to enable
Google says you can save an encrypted copy of your timeline in your account. The data gets backed up to Google servers over Wi-Fi when your device is charging and idle.
Maps has gone through a wide range of changes in its policies, which includes the removal of timeline data if you manually don’t turn it off. These privacy additions were supposed to help people with their location tracking but errors like these mean you are at the mercy of Google and other tech giants if such issues come about.
The new technical issue might have been caused by these changes and sadly there is no way to get the location data back for the unlinked accounts.