Your Guide to Exporting Your Google Maps Saved Places

Last updated: February 21, 2024 

Google Maps is a powerful tool that allows users to explore new places, find directions, and store their favorite locations.

One of the most helpful features of Google Maps is the saved places and timeline options. These features allow users to save and organize their favorite locations, as well as view their travel history. However, in order to access these saved places and timelines on different devices, it is important to know how to export them.

In this article, we will provide a complete guide on how to export Google Maps Timeline to Excel and also how to export your Google Maps Saved Places from Google Maps.

man using google maps mileage tracker

Why you might need to export Google Maps saved places and Google Maps Timeline data

Storing & sharing your travel history

Although Google Maps Saved Places and Google Maps Timeline features are incredibly helpful, it can be frustrating if you are unable to access them on different devices. For example, if you have saved important locations for an upcoming trip on your desktop computer but need to access them on your smartphone, you may be unable to do so without exporting them first. Similarly, if you want to share your travel history with friends or family members, you will need to export your Google Maps Saved Places and Google Maps Timeline.

Using your Google Maps Timeline for tax reimbursement

One additional reason for exporting your Google Maps Timeline data is to track your mileage for tax or reimbursement purposes. If you use your personal vehicle for business purposes, exporting your Google Maps Timeline data can help you accurately track your mileage and claim the appropriate deductions on your taxes or seek reimbursement from your employer.

You can export your Timeline data and filter it by dates or locations to see how many miles you’ve traveled for business purposes and import this data into a mileage log app such as MileageWise to create your IRS-proof mileage log. This can be especially helpful for people who work remotely or travel frequently for work.

Overall, exporting your Google Maps saved places and Timeline data can be useful for backup purposes, transferring data between devices, analyzing your travel patterns, tracking your mileage, creating an IRS-proof mileage log with MileageWise, and sharing it with others. It’s like having a built-in auditor by your side. 

Importance of being able to access Google Maps Saved Places and Timeline on any device

Being able to access your Google Maps Saved Places and Google Maps Timeline on any device is crucial for frequent travelers, businesses, and anyone who needs to access their location history on the go.

By exporting your saved places and timeline, you can easily view them on other devices, regardless of their operating system or software. This allows you to plan trips, find important locations, and view your travel history from anywhere at any time.

Google Maps Timeline is a fantastic tool for keeping track of your location history. However, if you’re looking to leverage this data for tax purposes or to track business mileage, you need to be able to export it to other applications. That’s where MileageWise comes in. With MileageWise, you can easily import your Google Timeline data and use it to track your expenses and deductions.

In the next section of this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to export your Google Maps Saved Places and Google Maps Timeline from Google Maps.

How to export your Google Maps Timeline data

Google Maps Timeline is a powerful tool that allows you to track your location history and view your activity on Google Maps. It’s a great way to keep a record of where you’ve been and when you were there. However, if you want to keep a backup of your timeline or view it on other mapping services, you’ll need to know how to export it. In this article, we will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to export your Google Timeline.

    • Step 1: Open Google Takeout: The first step is to navigate to Google Takeout, which is a tool that allows you to download a copy of your data from various Google services, including Google Timeline. You can access Google Takeout by visiting takeout.google.com.

google takeout mileage log export

Open Google Takeout

    • Step 2: Choose Your Data: Once you’ve accessed Google Takeout, you’ll be presented with a list of Google services that you can export data from. Scroll down until you find “Location History” and select it.

google-takeout-mileage-log-location-history-export

    • Step 3: Choose Your Export Settings: Next, you’ll need to choose the format in which you want to export your timeline. Choose JSON (programmer-friendly format) file format from the list. You can also choose the frequency of your exports, which can be daily, weekly, or monthly.

google takeout mileage log json export

    • Step 4: Create Your Export: After you’ve chosen your export settings, click on the “Create Export” button. Google will begin creating your export, and you’ll receive an email when it’s ready to download. Depending on the size of your timeline, this process may take a few minutes or a few hours.

google takeout mileage log export process

    • Step 5: Download Your Export: Once your export is ready, you’ll receive an email from Google with a link to download your file. Click on the link and follow the prompts to download your file to your computer.

IMPORTANT STEP: Right-click on the ZIP file in your folder and then click on ‘Extract All’. -The software will only take in unzipped/extracted files. 

extracting JSON files

Importing your Google Timeline to MileageWise

Now that you’ve exported your Google Maps Timeline using Google Takeout, you can import it into MileageWise. MileageWise is the only mileage tracking app software that offers this unique capability of importing Google Timeline data directly into your mileage log.

Gary has made a tutorial video on how Google Timeline import function works:

Here’s the complete walkthrough of the import process, step by step:

To import your fixed trips, go to the Trips tab under the Monthly trips menu, open Useful tools in the top right corner, and select Import fixed trips.

importing trips from google timeline

Select Google Timeline from the available data sources.

google timeline import

Select your desired vehicle and time period, then click on Next step.

MileageWise google timeline import

Select your file on your computer to upload (each file can be a maximum size of 20 MB).

google timeline to mileage log

Once the file has been recognized click on Upload file, next step.

google location history mileage log

The program will pair the columns automatically.

The import process may take 10-15 minutes, you will be notified via email. You can keep working within the system in the meanwhile.

how to make mileage log from google timeline

Clicking on the View current status button, a list of the fixed trips will be displayed, and in the upper fields, we will indicate where the process is: how many trips have been imported successfully, how many are in progress, and how many trips could not be imported.

google timeline import process

When the import process has finished, go back to the Trips tab via the Monthly trips menu to view your trips.

MileageWise monthly trips

If you have already recorded a refueling / charging on a given day, then the imported trips will be inserted after the refueling / charging:

refueling in daily trips of mileage log

Similarly, we insert imported trips under previously recorded fixed trips.

If needed, you can edit the days for which you have imported your fixed trips. Open the day in Calendar or List view. Imported trips are marked with the icon. You can delete trips individually, change the purpose of the trips, change the order of the trips, and add new fixed trips.

You can view the list of fixed trips created during the import. In the Useful tools menu in the upper right corner, select the List of the imported Fixed trips.

MileageWise list of imported trips

You can resize the window that opens, scroll through the uploaded fixed trips, and search for specific trips in the list.

list of imported fixed trips

You also have the option to delete all imported fixed trips at once. In the Useful tools menu, select Delete all imported trips.

deleting imported trips

Effortless IRS Compliance with Google Maps Data and MileageWise

As you can see, exporting your Google Maps Saved Places and Google Maps Timeline from Google Maps can have numerous benefits, including easy access to your favorite locations and activities on any device, sharing them with others, and the ability to use them with other mapping services and software.

By using Mileagewise, you can further enhance these benefits by using your saved places and timeline to track your mileage and expenses for business or personal tax purposes and creating an IRS-proof mileage log. With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Mileagewise provides an efficient and effective way to manage your travel-related data.

So, whether you’re a business traveler, a frequent adventurer, or just someone who likes to keep track of their favorite spots, exporting your Google Maps Saved Places and Google Maps timeline to Mileagewise can save you time, money, and hassle.

Download MileageWise’s automatic mileage tracker app from Google Play or the App Store & try it for free for 14 days. No credit card required!

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