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Google Maps is ditching cloud-based location history for a more private solution
Your location history will be stored locally on your device going forward, but you can still opt for an end-to-end-encrypted backup
It's no secret that Google Maps keeps tabs on your every move with its Timeline feature, which logs all your pit stops and the routes you take. As long as you're signed in to your Google account with Location History enabled (it's off by default), Google collects all this juicy information and secures it in the cloud, promising it's encrypted. But if you're the paranoid type, the company will soon give you the option to stash your trips directly on your device.
Android 13 schedule: 6 releases planned over 6 months, with previews turning to betas in April
If the timeline holds up
Today is Android 13 preview day, with the first Developer Preview landing as you read. While you wait for us to dig through all the nitty-gritty feature-level changes, there's one other important thing to note: Google's release schedule for upcoming previews, betas, and the final release.
Google gives its cookie replacement FLoC a more precise timeline
The current plan is to transition Chrome users by the end of 2023
Last month Google revised its target timeframe for FLoC, the new privacy-focused replacement technology for advertising and other tracking cookies, into 2023. Now the company has a more precise timeline of events for its multi-staged plan to implement the Federated Learning of Cohorts tool for Chrome, which is now in the early stages of testing.
Google Maps: Nifty new Insights feature is now rolling out more widely
Monthly travel stats derived from your timeline
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Google Maps keeps track of your daily timeline, and though its level of accuracy can feel a little too invasive, it's an excellent tool for tracking vacations, road trips, and any other travel. Timeline is getting a fresh coat of paint, along with a couple of new features to help you track your activity on an even deeper level. The new Insights tab now appears to be rolling out to more users.
Nokia delays Android 11 for most of its phones
You might be waiting a while for a new software update
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- Nokia has now officially revealed the Android 11 update timeline, and it appears to be identical to the previous leak. The Nokia 8.3, 2.2, 5.3, and 8.1 will be first in line for the upgrade, and the rest of the company's supported lineup will have to wait until 2021.
HMD Global's Nokia phones come with some of the cleanest Android builds around, but that still doesn't make the company the fastest to update its devices. Despite a roadmap shared with users last year, some of the phones slated for Android 11 still haven't received new software versions. To better reflect when updates might actually be ready, Nokia has expanded its roadmap up to Q3 and added a couple of new devices onto its list.
Timeline view on Google Maps gets new Trips tab, coming to Google Photos
If you're traveling, you can see your hotel's COVID-19 response in detail at google.com/travel
We'll make no judgment of whether you're traveling for the holidays or not — the time of year always seems to amp up the urgency of things. If you do, Google may let you know what your hotel is doing to keep the coronavirus at bay. Even if you don't, the company will be introducing a couple of new ways to look over your travel memories.
Google will fix Maps Timeline's disappearing location history
Your data is still there even if you can't see it right now, and it should be fixed in the next couple of days
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Google Maps' Timeline feature might seem a little creepy if you're especially privacy-conscious — and you can turn off the Location History it uses if you are — but it's also tremendously useful, giving you a full timeline with maps showing all your movements. In fact, some folks depend on it for more than just novelty or tracking down that nice-looking restaurant they drove past the other day, many use it as a tool for logging miles and billing. Unfortunately, there have been several reports in the last few days of that location data entirely disappearing in Google's Timeline tool, though a fix is coming soon.
Google Maps can show you what movies you saw in theaters, as if you needed a reminder right now
It'll probably come useful after quarantine, though
Google Maps has a creepy handy timeline feature that allows you to review where you've been. The latter is already integrated with Photos, allowing you to see pictures you've taken at a specific location. It's now gaining extra functionality, which can remind you what movie you've seen when you've visited a theater.
Today is Android Q day, and behind the scenes we're frantically flashing this new beta to see what's new, but plenty of new details have been revealed officially. Among the most important is the timeline for beta releases going forward. Six beta releases are planned in total, with the final release due in Q3.
Windows Phone might be a thing of the past, but for those who still love Microsoft's operating system, you can get a rough approximation with Microsoft Launcher. The launcher employs a distinctive Windows aesthetic and provides access to features that are particularly handy to users deep in the Microsoft ecosystem. Case in point, the new beta — v5.0 — adds Timeline, a feature that syncs your recent activity between mobile and Windows desktop.
For most of us, this week is likely to be important because of Google's I/O developer conference, which starts tomorrow. But Microsoft is also desperately trying to push its own relevance on the Android platform at the company's Build 2018 developer conference, which began today and is scheduled to overlap with I/O. Details are sparse, but Microsoft has revealed that it is planning on updating its Android launcher to support the Timeline feature from Windows 10 for enhanced workflow, and it will also be rolling out a new "Your Phone" app for notification mirroring and file sharing.
Just earlier this hour, Google released the details and images for the new Android P developer preview, and now we know what sort of schedule to expect for future releases—assuming Google sticks to it. The current plans are to push the 2nd Developer Preview in May. Two more are planned for June with a final image expected to land in July before the ultimate Q3 release.
Niantic might not technically be part of Google anymore, but it looks like at least a few people at the old stomping grounds are keeping up with the AR development team's progress. Reddit user GoldLeader272 noticed a juicy new addition to the activity selector in the Timeline feature of Google Maps yesterday: users can now indicate that they were "catching Pokémon," i.e. playing Pokémon GO on their phones. Users can even update Timeline activities on the Android app: go to "Your timeline," tap on the travel (car, walking, bus, cycling, etc.) icon, and then edit it to "catching Pokémon." Neat.
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