Start with the phone that holds your Timeline
Google announced the move to device storage in December 2023, with rollout planned through 2024. Google announcement Timeline now comes from your device and is unavailable in Maps on a computer. Google offers an optional encrypted backup on its servers. Google Maps Timeline help
Check which phone contains the period you need before exporting. A recent phone may not hold the same history as an older one. Look at several known journeys in Maps first. That gives you a useful comparison when the file is imported here, without assuming the export covers every year you travelled.
Export on Android
Use the phone’s Settings app. Open Location, then Location services, and choose Timeline. Select “Export Timeline data”, continue to the storage picker and save the file. Google lists this path in its Android instructions. Google help: Android Timeline export
Make a note of where you saved it. If you will review trips on a computer, transfer the exported file to that computer using your normal file-transfer method. Keep an unchanged copy so you can return to the original if a suggested date needs checking. You do not need to reorganize the locations into a spreadsheet first.
Export on iPhone
In Google Maps, use your profile menu to open Settings, then Location & Privacy. Choose “Export Timeline data” and use Save to Files in the share sheet. Select a folder and save. Google names the exported file location-history.json. Google help: iPhone Timeline export
Use the saved file when importing here. You can keep working on the phone or transfer that file to your computer. Read the current Google instructions if the menus look different. The route shown above is the one in the help page checked for this guide on October 29, 2026.
If you already have an older Google Takeout archive
An older archive may contain Location History data from before your account moved to device storage. If you kept such an export, extract its travel-history files and use the Timeline importer. Keep the original archive separately. Do not select an entire archive containing unrelated email or other account data.
Google’s general archive instructions explain Takeout downloads. Google Account help: download your data For your current Timeline, use the phone export instructions above. We do not promise that creating a new Takeout archive will recover older locations or reproduce data that is no longer in your Timeline.
After importing an older file, compare its date coverage with your phone export. Two files can overlap without covering the same full history. Review repeated journeys before accepting the combined list.
What happens when you import the file here
Use the Google Maps Timeline import option. We read the export inside your browser and suggest travel dates from the saved locations. The Timeline file is not uploaded to our server. You can combine those suggestions with the other travel records you choose to add.
Check the departure and return dates against evidence of the actual border crossings. A location near an airport does not establish when a flight departed. If the sources disagree, the row is marked for review. Tap Looks right or Edit after checking it. A suggested country change is a lead to verify, not proof of a journey.
What missing locations can and cannot tell you
Timeline is off by default and records visits when enabled. Turning it on later does not supply a Timeline of trips taken while it was off. Google explanation of Timeline settings A period with no saved locations cannot give this importer a dependable travel date.
A gap is also not proof that you remained at home. If your export has a departure clue but no supported return, leave that row unresolved until another record supplies the date. A booking email may help you find the journey, but confirm that the booked travel actually happened.
Compare a few trips you remember well, then review the rest of the date range. Include land journeys in that review. The importer cannot establish the completeness of your history from the file alone.
Use the dates in the relevant travel list
Choose the N-400 travel history view or the UK ILR absence view. Each view uses the country-specific dates you confirm. The methodology page explains how day counts and duplicate records are handled.
The list and complete watermarked PDF preview are free. Five PDF exports cost $6.99, paid once, with an unlock code and no registration. The editable list is stored only in your browser. Selected trip details appear in an exported PDF, which is stored for download and email for 24 hours, then deleted.
Other documents you upload are read on our server and deleted after the dates are read. Timeline import has its own browser-only file handling. TravelHistoryTool is independent software operated by one person. We are not affiliated with Google or any government and do not provide legal or immigration advice.