Google Maps' Timeline Gets A New Insights Feature, Which Is Slowly Being Rolled Out Widely

The Timeline feature on Google Maps is getting a nifty update in the form of Insights: a new tab that has started being rolled out to users across the globe.

Google Maps is an application that's all too well known for its constant slew of updates. The developers behind Maps clearly treat it as a passion project, constantly bringing in newer and more cutting edge technology to the board. Street View relies on user-fed cameras and AI in order to stitch together images of areas across the world. New nooks and crannies are constantly being added to the interface, with even more detailed layouts to boot. Features such as Indoor Live View allow users to check shopping malls and transit areas for places of interest. This technology heavily employs AR, projecting waypoints on your camera's live feed as you're walking. It's very impressive to see just how far Maps and its technology has come.

Another one of these constant updates to the interface is labelled Timeline. By using location data from an individual's phone, Google Maps provides an accurate history of all the places you've visited over a certain period of time, as well as the methods and routes employed to get there. While Timeline is a private feature, with Maps' acquired location data being inaccessible to any third parties, you can also choose to edit and/or delete your location history as you please. Timeline's purpose is to provide users with a detailed catalogue of their travelling history, helping them remember how they got to places and when they got there. No longer do you need to wrack your head over that one restaurant with the complicated name, hidden away in some random alley. Timeline remembers both the name and the route taken to get there!

Insights is a further addition to the Timeline interface. Its purpose is to provide a bit more detail about your activities over a set period of time. The list of details include entries such as how much you used certain methods of travel (on foot, vehicle), what was your busiest day or month in a year & why, and what places you frequent very often. This way, users can also keep a close eye on their own routines and habits, essentially wielding the Timeline Insights as a record keeper. You can easily point out and put a stop to certain habits, even, or ponder over certain routines you've come to employ in life.

As of yet, Insights in Google Maps' Timeline haven't rolled our all across the globe. The process has, however, begun. The UK and Germany ended up being first in line to get the interface update. The regions of North America and Australia can be expected to be next on the list. It'll take a few months before the feature's widely available across the world, so patience is key.


Read next: Google Maps Is Introducing Its New Indoor Live View Interface To Transit Stations In Japan
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