Google Maps location history change rolling out, Your Timeline on web going away
What prompted Google to change the location storage from cloud-based to device-based for the Google Maps Timeline?
Google's decision to change the location storage from cloud-based to device-based for the Google Maps Timeline was driven by a desire to increase user privacy and control over their data. By storing location data locally on users' devices, Google reduces the risk of unauthorized access to users' location history and eliminates the possibility of responding to broad geofence warrants from law enforcement. This change puts users in control of their location data and provides them with more privacy options, such as the ability to delete location history and choose whether or not to back up their data to the cloud3.
What features will continue to be available in the Google Maps for Android and iOS despite the storage changes?
The Your Timeline feature will continue to work in Google Maps for Android and iOS despite the storage changes4. This feature shows where you've been, including the specific locations you might have visited. The data is grouped into Trips, Places, Cities, and World (countries), while Google also generates Insights, like how far you traveled on a particular mode of transport.
What are the implications of Google's inability to respond to geofence warrants due to the new storage model?
Google's inability to respond to geofence warrants due to the new storage model has significant implications for both privacy advocates and law enforcement agencies4.
On one hand, privacy advocates are celebrating this move as it limits Google's access to users' location data and provides users with more control over their data. The change effectively ends the practice of geofence warrants, which have been criticized as an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. Jennifer Lynch, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, stated that "these warrants are dangerous" and "they threaten privacy and liberty because they not only provide police with sensitive data on individuals, they could turn innocent people into suspects."
On the other hand, law enforcement agencies are losing a valuable tool for investigating crimes. Geofence warrants have been used to solve major cases that might have otherwise gone cold. The California District Attorneys Association noted that in 2022, sheriff's deputies in Santa Clara County used the technique to solve "9 separate residential burglaries." Orin Kerr, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, expressed concern about the impact of this change on public policy, stating that "geofencing has solved a bunch of really major cases that were otherwise totally cold."
While Google's change doesn't prevent the government from getting information on a specific user by demanding their full account details, it does mean that investigators can no longer hand over some coordinates and a timeframe and compel Google to give them identifying data or metadata on all users within those parameters. This will likely lead to changes in how law enforcement agencies conduct their investigations and pursue justice.