[SmartCat]

Is Google Maps Timeline "feature" well-known?
https://www.google.com/maps/timeline

Not for those who are squeamish about privacy, but data geeks might like this. My travel exploits in 2018:

42 destinations in 13 cities:



13,164 kms done:



I have walked for 60 kms:



Longest trip:

[libranof1987]

I'd seen this a few years back and promptly deleted all the accumulated data.

This only happens if you use Google Maps signed in, right? I ensure I use apps without signing in (YouTube/Maps) as much as possible. But hey, privacy in today's world is a myth.

[Ironhide]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

I'd seen this a few years back and promptly deleted all the accumulated data.

This only happens if you use Google Maps signed in, right? I ensure I use apps without signing in (YouTube/Maps) as much as possible. But hey, privacy in today's world is a myth.

Umm, OT here but how does one sign out of YouTube (I'm talking about the app, on an Android phone here)? Can't seem to sign out of it any which way.

(Disclaimer : I'm probably a dinosaur when it comes to technology )

Cheers !

[sushantr5]

As said earlier, Privacy is a Myth. I believe data is already collected but whether to tell you or not is the question. Extent of data being collected may be less for the people concerned about privacy but it is always collected.

Said this, I was in awe when I saw snapshot of 2018. All my trips are documented in crisp details along with photos I have taken on my handy (Yepp I use Google Photos Backup). I would always love to see this kind of analysis with data about me. Here is my snapshot,

[jkrishnakj]

I had 'Turned off' location services on my iPhone and Google maps hasn't been able to track my movements and provide a summary output. I'm sure they do have the data somehow though.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Is Google Maps Timeline "feature" well-known?

You want to know an innovative usage?

Many a time I forgot, where and what did I use that credit card for on *that* day! And I was left wondering running through the credit card statement trying to decipher the entry. (Sometimes merchant names are not suggestive either)

And thats when I started using the time line to check where I was on the said day and re-think about the entry!

[ani_meher]

I too have disabled any data tracking. I don't mind seeing unrelated ads, but having google to track every moment and every voice command is unnerving. This is the same reason I have disabled the 'ok google' prompt. All your ok google commamds are promptly saved, and it is quite discerning to hear them after many months if not years.

Same with hey siri, hey alexa and whatnot.

If you enable geo tagging of photos and back up to google photos, it shows up nicely on the map.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by ampere

Many a time I forgot, where and what did I use that credit card for on *that* day! And I was left wondering running through the credit card statement trying to decipher the entry. (Sometimes merchant names are not suggestive either). And thats when I started using the time line to check where I was on the said day and re-think about the entry!

wow, I face this problem atleast 3 or 4 times a year. What I used to do was Google search the displayed merchant name (with mixed results). Your method is much better

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Is Google Maps Timeline "feature" well-known?

Knew that google was keeping track (Because it keeps asking ratings for places I've visited without using google maps!), but this presentation is very nice indeed.

However - I'm not getting any of the good stats you've shown in screenshots. I only have all the places circled in the map! Bummer!

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Knew that google was keeping track (Because it keeps asking ratings for places I've visited without using google maps!), but this presentation is very nice indeed. However - I'm not getting any of the good stats you've shown in screenshots. I only have all the places circled in the map! Bummer!

Check your gmail account. You would have got an email from 'Google Maps Timeline' with the subject: "CrazyDriver, here's your 2018"

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Check your gmail account. You would have got an email from 'Google Maps Timeline' with the subject: "CrazyDriver, here's your 2018"

Just found in settings that the email feature was disabled for me - so no fun! Have enabled it now - need to wait for the next mail summary mailer I guess.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by sushantr5

I would always love to see this kind of analysis with data about me. Here is my snapshot.

Here's mine:


One stat I wouldn't hate to flaunt:

[damanbir]

Here is how it goes for me.

Atleast I get some boasting rights! Been around the world

What surprised me was how sedentary our lifestyles have become. From a total of 365 Days, I have barely walked 80Kms, which comes down to roughly 250mts/per day!!! I feel ashamed of this figure!

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by damanbir

What surprised me was how sedentary our lifestyles have become. From a total of 365 Days, I have barely walked 80Kms, which comes down to roughly 250mts/per day!

That's with the phone in your pocket. You need to access your Apple Watch/Fitbit data to figure out your actual walking distance.

[GJ01]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Is Google Maps Timeline "feature" well-known?
https://www.google.com/maps/timeline

Have been using this for quite some time - do you also use Google Trips? Next time you travel - just mail all your tickets / boarding passes, Hotel reservations to your Gmail account. It will organize it as your trip. There is also a separate app called Google Trips, but you dont need that if you are using Google Assistant.

Which brings me to the point of Google Assistant - I use Google Assistant (GA) a lot. For those who have not used it, give it a try. The NLP (Natural Language Processing) engine is really good, have never had any issues with it recognizing my commands / accent. Long press of my BT button brings up GA - I can tell it to do the usual stuff like call, send text message etc. For those of you who have not used it - also give a try on their 'Routines' feature in GA. With Routines, you can tell GA to do a sequence of steps based on a specific command. For eg: When I tell "Good Night Google" it asks me what time I want the alarm to be set for the next morning and then plays Ocean sounds (there are multiple options you can configure).

Another good Google function is the Speech to Text function on the keyboard. Again - for those who have not used this or dont know about this - you will see a mike icon in your keyboard - press that and you get a popup asking you to talk - speak whatever message it is that you want - it will get converted to text in the message box. I earlier used the 'flow' option on the Swiftkey keyboard - now I mostly tell google what I want to type. Again, I never had a problem with it recognizing my voice, the only gripe is that it doesn't understand when to punctuate. So I don't get commas and full stops. I know this can be done - just that its much easier to speak a sentence and send the message out. The good thing is that you can speak in many Indian Vernacular languages and Google will type it in that language. Very helpful for my Dad - he used to fumble with the small keys on the phone and always used 'All Caps' for his better readability. Told him that typing 'All Caps' means you are shouting - he now mostly dictates his messages to the phone.

Sorry for going OT - but there are some really good features in the Google suite that not many know about. Just penned down a few.