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Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET
Google Maps is rolling out a new feature to Android and desktop users called Your Timeline. With it, you can see all the places you’ve been. Google is quick to point out that timeline information is private and visible only to you. And that you must opt in to the feature by enabling Location History on your Google account, which begs the question: Do you have Location History enabled? Let’s have a look.
On a desktop, log into your Google account and head to the My Account page. Next, click on Personal info & privacy and scroll down to the Places you go section. If the map is full color and slider switch is blue, then you have Location History enabled. Click the button to pause Location History. The map and slider will turn gray, and Google will cease tracking you.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET
On an Android device, go to Settings > General and select Google from My Accounts. Next, tap Location under Privacy, and then tap Google Location History under Location Services. Lastly, tap to uncheck the box to turn off Location History.
And if you have already received the Your Timeline feature, then you can pause directly from the main view of Timeline on Google Maps. Just scroll along the bottom banner until you see the Location History box and click the pause button. You can also pause location history by clicking on the gear icon located in the lower-right corner of the map.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET
If you found that you had Location History enabled and would like to delete all or some of this data, you can get rid of it all or specific days. To delete all location history, click the trashcan button in the lower-right corner of the main view of Your Timeline. And to delete a single day, use the Year, Month and Day pull-down menus to select a specific date and then click the trashcan button that sits along the right edge of the Timeline panel.
