How to Delete Your Google Maps Location Data & History

Google Maps gathers a significant amount of data about the places you visit and your activity within the app. But how do you delete it? Here’s a practical guide.

Marc Stöckel / t-online

Millions use Google Maps daily for navigation and trip planning, and the application collects considerable data about how and where it’s used. Fortunately, users have the ability to manage and delete this information.

The following steps will guide you to the correct menus, whether you’re using an Android or iOS device:

Here’s how to proceed

Within this section, several sub-menus allow you to manage different types of information. In the “Web & App Activity” section, for example, you can view your search history by clicking the “View and delete activity” button.

You can delete individual items by tapping the “X” next to them. You can also clear your entire history or a specific time period. To do this, open the delete menu above the list and choose the desired option. Automatic deletion of older data can also be enabled.

Deleting Location History Data

Slightly higher up in the previous “Your data in Maps” menu, the “Your Timeline” option provides access to Google Maps Timeline, where data can be managed and deleted through a sub-menu. To access this, open the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and select “Location History & Privacy settings.”

Within the “Timeline” section of this settings menu, several options are available to delete data:

If desired, you can also completely disable Location History just above the three options mentioned, so that no location history is recorded.

Translated and adapted by Noëline Flippe