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In the latest sign that technology knows us even better than we know ourselves, Google has unveiled Your Timeline; a feature in Maps that lets users look back on their movements in days gone by.
And it’s startlingly accurate – having full logs of exactly where you walked/drove/ran/moved on a certain day.
First things first before you get too alarmed though – the feature only works if you have opted-in to sharing your location with Google, and then use Google Maps on your phone on a regular basis. Days where you didn’t use Maps are predominantly blank. All the information you see is also only accessible to you (and Google), so you shouldn’t fear the world finding out your entire daily routine.
Google announced that the feature is still rolling out, but many users are already able to access it on Android and desktop.
As well as listing the places you’ve been, in some cases there are routes taken as well – in essence your entire day’s movements mapped out, as well as pinpointing all the various places you’ve been.
And if you happen to geo-tag any photos you’ve shared with the Google Photos app, they’ll appear in your Timeline too.
In a blog post announcing the new feature, Google’s Gerard Sanz said: “Have you ever wanted a way to easily remember all the places you’ve been – whether it’s a museum you visited during your last vacation or that fun bar you stumbled upon a few months ago?
“Well, starting today, Google Maps can help. We’re gradually rolling out Your Timeline, a useful way to remember and view the places you’ve been on a given day, month or year.”
But it is worth bearing in mind that Google already knows what you search for, and come the autumn and the roll-out of Android Pay they could have an input in your buying habits too. The big tech companies are becoming more and more embedded in the personal aspects of our lives; the results of which are still being discovered.
