I wrote last week about an oral argument in the Fourth Circuit involving geofence warrants. Geofence warrants are warrants to obtain the location data that Google users let Google collect if they opt in to Google's location history service, which about a third of Google users do. Geofence warrants have been possible because, if you opt in, Google keeps a copy of the location history. And records are kept can be compelled, at least if the legal process is valid.
All of which makes this Google announcement from yesterday of great interest. Google will no longer keep location history even for the users who opted in to have it turned on. Instead, the location history will only be kept on the user's phone.
The Timeline feature in Maps helps you remember places you've been and is powered by a setting called Location History. If you're among the subset of users who have chosen to turn Location History on (it's off by default), soon your Timeline will be saved right on your device — giving you even more control over your data. Just like before, you can delete all or part of your information at any time or disable the setting entirely.
If you're getting a new phone or are worried about losing your existing one, you can always choose to back up your data to the cloud so it doesn't get lost. We'll automatically encrypt your backed-up data so no one can read it, including Google.
Additionally, when you first turn on Location History, the auto-delete control will be set to three months by default, which means that any data older than that will be automatically deleted. Previously this option was set to 18 months. If you want to save memories to your Timeline for a longer period, don't worry — you can always choose to extend the period or turn off auto-delete controls altogether.
These changes will gradually roll out through the next year on Android and iOS, and you'll receive a notification when this update comes to your account.
