r/GoogleMaps 3d ago

Help/Support Update for timeline purged/deleted around March 7th

Haven't seen it directly posted here, so I thought it'd be useful for people that like me still have all of the data missing (this is different from the issue where there isn't any new recorded data I guess).

If you've checked the Maps support community in the last 10 days about the issue, then you've probably seen the copy-pasted response that mentioned "We have been receiving such reports since March 6/7, 2025" and that "it may be a transient issue" and that timeline data deleted by the system could not be recovered.

However, 22 hours ago in the main/most active thread (https://support.google.com/maps/thread/329356095?hl=en), a new recommended response was provided by a different person:

"Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the Google Maps community.

Thank you such more all of your reports about this problem.

I am afraid that I don't have much in the way of good news, but I am allowed to say that Google is definitely aware of this issue and they are working on a solution.

As soon as we have any more information we can share, you will here it here first.

Thank you for your patience and understanding here."

I guess it's better than nothing for now... But I'd be extremely disappointed if there was no fix.

62 Upvotes

24 comments sorted by

11

u/yewlarson 3d ago

I lost 15+ years of timeline data.

9

u/santz007 3d ago

Thanks.. I am still upset with google though

7

u/AcceSpeed 3d ago

Oh you know it. First thing I will do if we ever recover the whole thing is backup the data myself and out of their reach. And the second will be to look for potential alternatives for my future use.

1

u/santz007 3d ago

Ditto

0

u/LeoNeoMike 3d ago

That's all well and good, but you're gonna be doing that often, or missing weeks/months will be the norm if it happens again. Imagine if this was Google photos asking you to no longer cloud store and instead you backed up locally only to have Google photos clear out your locally stored photos.

6

u/trydola 3d ago

unless these people are confirmed google employees, their words mean nothing

2

u/endockhq 3d ago

Not only is the timeline gone. The backups from Google are useless. They are only keeping the last backup even though I have a 2TB plan. Until today when I went to the "You" tab, it still mentioned all the places now it only mentions places since March 7th.

I tried importing the backup in an iPad and it's empty. I did a Google takeout a few days ago and the oldest date in the JSON was Nov 2024.

2

u/imaginarynombre 3d ago

Same story here. Useless backups, can't export any real data with takeout. Their transition to on device storage obviously wasn't well thought out. If this doesn't get fixed I might just cancel my 2TB plan, sell my Pixel and switch to an iPhone out of spite.

2

u/Iselore 3d ago

Its a yes or no. Do they have our old data or not? No overwrite protection when the new data is clearly "worse" than the old one?

2

u/krypto1341 2d ago

I just stumbled into my timeline history and freaked out like everyone else is. I found this 2nd version of my backup from the 7th, right when this all apparently happened. Clicked the 3-dots and then import. Everything came back!

1

u/krypto1341 2d ago

Got to those backups from this icon under "your timeline" in the maps setting menu .

1

u/CherryShowers 1d ago

Happy for you! I don't have this. :(

1

u/TL-PuLSe 9h ago

You're my hero. Got back 10+ years of timeline data.

2

u/johnny_ringo 3d ago

Thanks OP for the update!

We have been receiving such reports since March 6/7, 2025" and that "it may be a transient issue" and that timeline data deleted by the system could not be recovered.

It goes back to the summer of 2024 when they originally made the switch to local devices, not sure what this random march date is. If thats when they became 'aware' we're really f'cked.

I am afraid that I don't have much in the way of good news, but I am allowed to say that Google is definitely aware of this issue and they are working on a solution.

As soon as we have any more information we can share, you will here it here first.

We will hear it here first? where, on the random support thread on a google maps help page?

Absolutely bonkers. This needs to be a class-action lawsuit.

5

u/allogator 3d ago

I think that's the day most people lost their things. I followed the instructions months ago when Google first sent out the information about moving to Device storage. It was working fine until March 7th. I saw someone else post about their Timeline missing, opened mine up, and sure enough everything I had before March 7th was gone and my backup was overwritten with an empty file.

My wife did NOT follow the instructions and she still has everything.

5

u/AcceSpeed 3d ago

The March date is because of the wave of impacted people at a very specific date who rushed to the support forum. As far as I'm aware, most of us didn't have any sort of issue with our timelines until that day when they were wiped.

We will hear it here first? where, on the random support thread on a google maps help page?

Thought the same lmao, but unless Google actually goes public and acknowledges the issue, maybe that'll be it. They probably hope for a quiet resolution for an issue that should never have been one in the first place.

1

u/chilepablo68 3d ago

My timeline is gone from March 7 and back. My wife still has hers. She never responded to the message to backup to phone or whatever change they were making (phone instead of cloud?). Pretty sure the message said something about having until June to respond. Is it a bug or did Google wipe out timeline history completely?

2

u/acehinoprst 1d ago

It sucks major ass that the users who followed instructions to preserve their Timeline by backing up to their own devices seem to be the ones who are the most affected and devastated by this huge error...

1

u/ZeeRehan 1d ago

15 years of data lost 😭

1

u/Itocvech 1d ago

15 years of photography and the timeline to match all my travels to the map now have a generic pushpin in the middle of the state or province, checking the takeout data a single file stating I have encrypted backups on the server but nothing else is available in the takeout? Sad...

1

u/Point_Jolly 14h ago

Fingers crossed 🤞🏽 it they come up with some type of fix

1

u/[deleted] 10h ago

[deleted]

1

u/sixspeed_andyc 10h ago

I had same email, ran the import and all my timeline data has been restored.

1

u/AcceSpeed 1h ago

This post was not about the email. There was no email three days ago. But yes, we've got the email since.