
Google – My Location History - feross
https://www.google.com/maps/timeline?authuser=0&pb
======
dang
This looks like a follow-up to
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20050764](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20050764).

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m0dest
I used to willingly enable this and enjoyed this page. But it was recently
revealed that Google shares bulk location data with law enforcement, offering
the list of all devices that were in a certain area. That was the line for me.
Disabled.

[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/13/us/google-
loc...](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/13/us/google-location-
tracking-police.html)

> The new orders, sometimes called “geofence” warrants, specify an area and a
> time period, and Google gathers information from Sensorvault about the
> devices that were there.

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wppick
Unless you are planning criminal activity in the future, this feature could
act as an alibi to absolve you of being in the place where a crime was
committed. And, false positives aside, I think it's great that law enforcement
has the tools to keep society safe and civil. Law enforcement is not always ==
bad

~~~
blueline
>Unless you are planning criminal activity in the future

it's a good thing all laws are just, then, huh?

~~~
kekebo
And that constructing false narratives from meta data isn't a thing

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KukicAdnan
Honestly, I find this really useful and love being able to see where I've
been, especially since I travel on almost a weekly basis.

It's an invaluable tool for me and I trust Google to safeguard the
information. They haven't failed me yet, and if they ever do, it should be
easy enough to delete the info.

~~~
danielecook
I like it as well - but google is almost certainly using this data to target
you. I also wish I more control. Is there a way to export to GPX? It would be
fun to create a heat map of your daily locations over the course of years.

~~~
anoonmoose
By "target", do you mean that they're using the information I voluntarily give
them to provide me with more accurate and useful ads? Because, I mean, that's
not a terrible trade-off.

~~~
brianpgordon
You actually see nonzero value in more targeted ads? Genuinely asking.

~~~
anoonmoose
Yes. I'd rather see ads for things I might actually buy than things I would
never buy. If I could have an ad for a website I like instead of an ad for a
website I would never go to that sounds like a good things to me.

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O_H_E
OwnTracks. Open source, self-hosted option that uses standard protocols. iOS
and an Android apps available.

This is turining out to be quite extensive. It also have options for sharing
with family (and friends). And triggering custom action when arriving/leaving
a location.

OwnTracks: [https://owntracks.org/](https://owntracks.org/)

Docs: [https://owntracks.org/booklet/](https://owntracks.org/booklet/)

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periferral
Like many other comments, I like this and find it useful. Recently I took a
Lyft ride late from SFO to home and it was late and I was tired and I didnt
concentrate on the route taken by the driver but I was certain we took the
101. Later when I saw the charge, I was surprised to see the ride map showing
me taking a roundabout way, heading on 280 and essentially doing a 70mile
ride. I complained to Lyft and they refunded the money but I still wanted to
know how I got home. Checked back on this and found that it was in fact a
regular 101 ride home and I had proof just in case Lyft wanted it.

As others have mentioned, it is nice to look back at the trips I took and also
share with others who might be visiting places where I have been in the past.

~~~
futureastronaut
> it was in fact a regular 101 ride home

Confused... you make it sound like faulty location history led you to
erroneously report your Lyft driver. But that doesn't jive with the tone and
thrust of your comment.

~~~
buckminster
It sounds like the Google map confirmed his intuition but the Lyft map had a
lengthy bogus route. So he was overcharged.

~~~
periferral
Sorry my post was confusing.

Lyft had the wrong route (280 and longer) Google confirmed my suspicion that
we took the shorter route (101) Lyft credited back regardless but it was good
to know what really happened

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gonzoflip
My location history showed me as being on the strip in Las Vegas for 40
minutes while I was at google's Next conference in SF this year, which i found
to be interesting. As far as I can tell my phone must have registered an SSID
that caused google to think i was in Vegas. My history no longer shows this,
but i did save some screen caps.

[https://imgur.com/a/eNBP5t7](https://imgur.com/a/eNBP5t7)

~~~
killerdhmo
This happens sometimes with conferences. I was at one recently where it
changed everyone's auto set time zone to Mountain time, because the conference
set up came from Utah

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McDev
I've been wanting to disable this for years now but find it too interesting
and sometimes useful to look back on.

I've ditched many Google services due to Google being Google yet I still have
this enabled which is somewhat ironic.

One day I'd like to figure out how to implement some sort of private
alternative to this without using Google.

~~~
Finkregh
Try [https://owntracks.org/](https://owntracks.org/)

~~~
philips
That page needs a bit of help. The call to action to install could be more
front and center and the docs link is buried in the last sentence. Arguably
the docs link is way more important than github or Twitter

Docs here: [https://owntracks.org/booklet/](https://owntracks.org/booklet/)

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frereubu
Just a quick note - if like me you deleted your location history then disabled
it, all you'll see is a prompt to delete your (non-existent) location history,
which confused me for a bit.

After disabling all Google history - location, web, search etc - I don't
notice much of a difference in the usefulness of Google services, but the one
thing that still hangs around is purchase and booking history because my
company uses GSuite. When I want to delete that history it tells me to delete
that email - I think I should be able to turn that off somehow, but don't know
how.

Edit: To do justice to Google, they do seem to be respecting my wishes not to
store any of that history, at least in any explicit form.

~~~
derivagral
From other comments, it seems like that history is sourced directly from your
emails; you'd need to delete the (archived?) emails to remove it from the
list.

~~~
frereubu
Yes, perhaps I wasn't clear - I did say it tells me to delete the emails, but
given that it's a paid service I think there should be a separate setting
where I can tell GSuite not to scan my emails.

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helloguillecl
I know it is not really advisable to share this info with third parties in
general, but I'd love to have this data under my control, since it is has
proven very to my-self.

A few examples on why it has been useful to me:

\- When did I go to the dentist last?

\- Where did that credit card charge I see in my bank statement originated?

\- Where did I go on the day I lost my umbrella?

~~~
taborj
Another user mentioned OwnTracks, coupled with a broker like Mosquitto. That
might fit your needs.

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nostalgk
Does anyone know if turning this off turns off the restaurant recommendations?
I don't really want my location data on here, but I do enjoy some of the
convenient notifications that Google gives me like suggested businesses.

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A7med
I disabled it a long time ago

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nostromo
Be sure to click on the nodes to get your full history.

This is why I 1) switched back to Apple Maps and 2) never say yes when Google
asks for my location in Safari on iOS (it doesn't change the query results
anyway)

~~~
taborj
Similar, though I switched to HERE WeGo on Android (but they have an iOS
version as well).

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spidermango
It's another "I'm scared of google tracking this thing but can't give a reason
why" episode. It's bad if law enforcement has your location data because...?
Are you a criminal?

~~~
andybak
> It's bad if law enforcement has your location data because...?

I'm on the lax and forgiving end of the privacy debate but even I find this
statement breathtaking.

Would you be as cavalier about giving up other similar protections? i.e.
unwarranted search, self-incrimination etc. They can all be attacked with
similar "if you've done nothing wrong..." arguments.

~~~
spidermango
Tell me how someone going into your home and searching or self-incrimination
is the same as law enforcement knowing where you are

~~~
andybak
Someone going into your home and self-incrimination are different to each
other but they both exist for the same underlying reason.

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konart
No data after march 2015. Good.

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atomical
It shows me driving over water. That's interesting. I'm not seeing a bridge.

~~~
derekp7
To conserve battery, you phone only reports current location periodically. The
location history then draws a straight line between successive plot points.

~~~
atomical
Would airplane mode or poor signal change that? I think GPS is still on during
airplane mode.

I'm assuming it saves periodically and uploads when it acquires a connection.

