Google Maps records every whereabouts you use your smartphone, even if you don't actively open the app. Whether it is a daily trip like shopping in supermarkets every week, or other trips, Google Maps will save this information for you in Android and iOS apps. While this data is often used for personalized recommendations or personal reviews, you may not want Google to continue to accumulate such detailed targeting records.

This feature, known as the Location History, allows you to view all the locations you have visited. It is very useful when you need to recall a restaurant you visited when you traveled a few years ago, but it may not necessarily feel at ease knowing that Google is always tracking your location. What's more serious is that if a hacker hacks into your phone or Google account, they can grasp your whereabouts and even speculate on where you will be in the future.

• Don't miss it: View and manage your location history in Google Maps, track where you've been and done

Fortunately, you can easily access Google Maps settings and turn off location logging completely on your iPhone or Android phone. You can also choose to delete some or all of the old location history, keeping only recent data. Even if you are not worried about privacy, cleaning up old location records can help improve recommendation accuracy, especially if you have recently moved or changed your lifestyle.

Access location history in Google Maps

To enter the relevant settings, please open the Google Maps app and click on your Google Account avatar in the search bar. Next, select Settings from the menu, and then find and click Personal Content from the list.

Close location record

The most thorough way is to completely stop the automatic save function of position recording. Although this is the strictest option, it is also the only way to prevent Google Maps from continuously tracking your whereabouts in the background. In the "Position Settings" section, click "Position Record is Enable". If you do not see this option, please click "Location Record Settings" to enter.

If you have multiple Google accounts logged into your device, you may be asked to select the account you want to modify the settings. If you frequently switch to using these accounts on your phone, it is recommended to repeat this for each account.

You will now be in the Activity Control page of your Google account. Here, simply turn off the Location History switch to prevent Google Maps from continuously tracking your location.

After closing, Google will prompt you that "pause" location records may affect the normal use of certain features. However, this will not affect the location permissions of other Google services. After confirming that it is correct, click the blue "Pause" button at the bottom, and the position recording function will be disabled.

Delete location records for a certain period of time

If you don't want to completely close the location record, you can choose to delete some of it. For example, if you went to a place you didn’t often go to, but now you are constantly receiving relevant recommendations, you can delete the records from that period to solve the problem. Or, if you have visited a location that you don’t want to be known to others, this is also a great way to clear the traces.

Return to the Personal Content page, click "Delete Location Record Time Period", and select the start and end dates. After selecting, click "Continue" (Android) or "Delete" (iOS). Google will confirm the time frame you want to delete and state that this information will be removed from your account. Click "I already understand, confirm deletion" and select "Delete" to clear the data.

If you are not sure which Google account you are using during the time period you want to delete, you can switch accounts in Google Maps and repeat this for each account. The way to switch accounts is to click the drop-down arrow next to the avatar in the search bar and select another account.

Manually delete all location records

If you want to continue using the location record function, but want to start over (such as just moving to a new home), you can manually clear all historical data. In the "Personal Content" page, click "Delete All Location History" and a prompt will pop up. Google will remind you that deleting history may affect the performance of map functionality. If you confirm that it is correct, check "I already understand, confirm deletion", and then click "Delete".

If you want to clear your records for all Google accounts, switch accounts and repeat for each account. Switching method is the same as above.

Automatically delete old location records

Finally, you can also set Google Maps to automatically clean up old location data. In the Personal Content page, click Automatically delete location history to view the options. The system provides three time settings:

• Automatically delete activity records from 3 months ago
• Automatically delete activity records from 18 months ago
• Automatically delete activity records from 36 months ago

Depending on your travel frequency and acceptance of data storage, you can choose to clean it up every few months instead of every few years, which is entirely up to you. After selecting, click "Next" in the lower right corner and confirm your automatic deletion preferences. The page displays the history deadline to be deleted and the number of locations involved.

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