Google Maps' new timeline feature puts location history at your fingertips [Update]

If you've ever wanted a convenient way to keep track of your stops on your latest trip with Google Maps for Android, you may be in luck. Google appears to be quietly rolling out a new "Timeline" feature which allows you to take a look at your location history in detail.

The feature, called "Your Timeline," was pointed out to us by a reader, and places your location history in a new menu item located directly below the "Your Places" option in the hamburger menu. Overall, the timeline is presented in a relatively clean manner. You can swipe left or right to scroll between days, with a list of places you visited and how you got there sorted chronologically below a map of the day's trip.

One of the cooler aspects of the timeline is that you can select a particular stop to see not only the timespan that you were there, but also any pictures that you took while you were stopped there. Additionally, if you don't want a stop to show up on your timeline, you can tap the edit button and remove it. Going further, you can add a personal place by selecting it on the map and giving it a custom name.

Overall, this looks like a pretty great feature if you find a great restaurant or shop and want to remember where it is. The feature looks to be part of a slow rollout, so it may take a bit to land on your device.

Update: Google has now taken to a blog post to officially announce the feature, mostly going over what we covered above::

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. Your Timeline allows you to visualize your real-world routines, easily see the trips you've taken and get a glimpse of the places where you spend your time. And if you use Google Photos, we'll show the photos you took when viewing a specific day, to help resurface your memories.

Additionally, it looks like Timeline is accessible on desktop as well, so long as you've opted-in to allowing Google to access your location history. Again, as Google notes, this is a gradual rollout, so it may take some time before the "Your Timeline" option appears on your device.

Thanks to Tom W. for the tip!

Dan Thorp-Lancaster