If you recently opened Google Maps expecting to revisit past trips, only to find your entire Timeline history wiped clean, you’re not alone. Many users, unsurprisingly, have taken to forums and social media, frustrated over the sudden disappearance of their location history — some spanning years. Now, Google has finally confirmed that a technical issue was responsible for the data loss. And while some users (those with encrypted Timeline backups) may be able to recover their lost Timeline entries, others — especially those who didn’t enable cloud backups — are out of luck.
The issue first gained traction when users on platforms like Reddit and Google’s own support forums began noticing that their Google Maps Timeline data had vanished. The Timeline feature, which tracks users’ visited locations over time, is widely used by those who rely on Google Maps to keep a record of past trips and places visited. Eventually, the number of complaints surged, with some users reporting the loss of several years’ worth of location data. Many initially believed it to be a bug or a temporary glitch. In time, Google confirmed the problem in an email statement sent to affected users. However, the company did not issue an official apology, instead referring to the incident as a brief technical issue that resulted in the deletion of Timeline data for some people.
Users can check if they can restore their timeline data by going to the Google Maps app on their Android or iOS device, then clicking on their profile picture. Then, they need to select “Your Timeline” and look for a cloud icon at the top of the screen. If the cloud has an arrow inside, it means that backups are enabled, and users can tap on it and choose a backup to import.
In an official statement provided to The Verge, Genevieve Park, a spokesperson for Google, stated, “We briefly experienced a technical issue that caused the deletion of Timeline data for some people. Nearly everyone with encrypted Timeline backups will be able to restore their data; unfortunately, those who did not have backups enabled will not be able to recover lost data.” The tech behemoth has provided steps for restoring lost Timeline data for those with cloud backups enabled, but as mentioned earlier, users who opted for on-device storage have no available recovery method. The company has not provided further details on the cause of the technical issue or how many users were affected.
The incident comes just months after Google transitioned Timeline storage from cloud-based servers to on-device storage. This change allowed users to store their location history locally on their devices rather than relying on Google’s servers. While this shift was promoted as a privacy-focused improvement, it also introduced a major risk — the potential for permanent data loss in cases like this. Users who had previously relied on Google’s cloud storage may not have realized that once their location history was stored on-device, there was no backup unless they manually enabled it. For those who had not activated cloud backups, this meant that any unexpected deletion, technical error, or device failure could result in a complete loss of their data.
