Confirm the correct Timeline first

Open Google Maps and inspect Your Timeline before exporting. Confirm the Google account, date coverage, and a few known trips. If history is missing after reinstalling Maps or changing phones, restore an available encrypted backup inside Google Maps before creating a new export.

The browser tool cannot sign in to the account, access Google cloud backup, or reconstruct points that are absent from the JSON.

iPhone export steps

These labels are the current English Google Maps and iOS labels; localization or an app update can change the wording slightly.

  1. Open Google Maps and tap your profile picture. Verify the account shown.
  2. Open Settings, then Personal content.
  3. Select Export Timeline data. Wait for the share sheet or save prompt.
  4. Save the JSON in Files. Pick On My iPhone or an iCloud Drive folder you can identify later.
  5. Return to Safari. Open Timeline to Video, tap the file button, and select the saved JSON from Files.

Review and render on iPhone

The parser runs locally before map tiles are loaded. Confirm the date summary, limit the range, and add a privacy zone. Safari must support WebCodecs and H.264 encoding to create an MP4; keep the tab open during a long export. If encoding is unavailable, use the preview to verify the route and move the same file to a supported desktop browser.

For a general comparison of both phone platforms, read the complete Timeline export guide. For a rejected or zero-byte file, use the private JSON troubleshooting steps.

Verify the iPhone file before sharing it

The iOS share sheet can save to On My iPhone, iCloud Drive, or another document provider. Wait for the save operation to finish, then find the item in Files and check its name, non-zero size, modified time, and extension. If Safari shows a cloud-download icon, download the file to the device before selecting it so a network interruption does not leave an incomplete copy.

Compare the viewer's earliest and latest dates with a few known trips in Google Maps. A readable JSON file can still belong to the wrong Google account or contain only the history available on that phone. Keep the original unchanged; if coverage is wrong, verify the active Maps account and any available encrypted backup, then export again rather than editing coordinates by hand.

What stays local and what does not

The selected JSON, titles, media, and generated video are not uploaded to the application server. Once you approve the map, third-party tile requests disclose the IP address and requested tile area to the tile provider. The site therefore says “processed on your device,” not “completely offline.”

Timeline to Video is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google.

Verification

Sources and review notes

Export paths, platform behavior, encoding capability, and map attribution were reviewed against the relevant primary documentation below. Product behavior was also checked with the local automated suite on August 25, 2026.