Users have noticed their saved trips suddenly disappearing from Google Maps. Google confirms a technical issue that led to the deletion of this data. Only some people will be able to recover them, and even then, not always completely.
For a long time, Google Maps has offered the ability to track your movements using location history. This feature has recently evolved with the arrival of Timeline, an improved and localized version on the device. Accessible directly in the application, it allows you to view your daily journeys, the places visited and the distances traveled, all without going through the company's servers. This change was intended to strengthen the confidentiality of personal data.
The Timeline relies on local storage, with encrypted and temporary manual backups via the cloud in case you change phones. But this new system has revealed its limitations. For several weeks, users have noticed that it had been completely emptied. Google finally confirmed that a technical bug had led to the deletion of this data for some accounts. Only people who manually activated the backup can hope to recover it. And even in this case, the restoration remains incomplete according to several reports.
A local storage error deletes years of trips on Google Maps
The problem occurred shortly after Google changed Google Maps has changed its approach to Timeline, moving from cloud storage to local storage on devices. This new method requires manual activation of backups. If the user does not click the cloud icon in the Timeline settings, no backup is performed. As a result, some users have lost several years of location data with no way to restore it.
Google has not specified how many accounts were affected, or whether an update will correct the situation for those who lost their data without backups. On Reddit, several reports indicate that even with backup enabled, some parts of the Timeline never returned. This bug highlights the limitations of local storage, which, without manual backup, exposes users to permanent loss of sensitive data such as their movements.
Source: The Verge
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