A Google Timeline to video converter that runs on your device

What the converter accepts and creates

The input is a supported Timeline.json or location-history.json file exported from the phone that stores your Google Maps Timeline. The converter looks for coordinates and timestamps, orders usable points inside the chosen date range, removes invalid coordinates, and warns about suspicious jumps. It ignores fields it does not understand instead of turning them into invented trips.

The output is a finished H.264 MP4. It can contain a moving route, camera changes, an opening title, animated date and distance text, a built-in soundtrack, and a final summary card. The Timeline JSON is not placed inside the video. The MP4 also does not contain separate editable tracks or a CapCut project file.

The three story treatments use the same selected route in different ways. Travel Film leaves more room for long movement. Year in Review moves faster across a broad date range. Commuter Truth works with repeated routes. None of them guesses why a trip happened or assigns a transport mode when the export does not support one.

Convert a Timeline export step by step

Use the fictional sample first if you want to learn the controls without opening a personal route. When you are ready, follow the current Android or iPhone export guide and keep an untouched copy of the JSON.

1. Open the JSON locally. Start the Google Timeline to video converter, choose the export, and wait for the parser to report its usable points and date coverage. The page does not need your Google account.
2. Choose the part worth showing. A single trip is easier to review than an entire multi-year file. Set a date range that the parser says is present instead of treating missing dates as days with no travel.
3. Review the route. Check the overview for straight-line jumps and unexpected detours. The conservative filter can remove a narrow class of implausible return jumps, but it does not rewrite the source file.
4. Protect the endpoints. Add a privacy radius when the first or last recorded point could reveal home, work, or another routine place. Preview and export use the same sanitized route.
5. Set the video format. Choose a story treatment, title, duration, aspect ratio, resolution, frame rate, and soundtrack. The browser checks the requested H.264 configuration before a long render begins.
6. Render and inspect the MP4. Keep the tab open while encoding. Play the downloaded file from beginning to end before sharing it or opening it in another editor.

Why an online converter does not need a file upload

The converter is online because it is delivered as a website, but the Timeline JSON is parsed in the browser. Selected coordinates, dates, titles, audio buffers, and the generated MP4 are not sent to a Timeline to Video application server for rendering or storage. A shared preset link contains presentation settings, not the route or source dates.

Map imagery has a separate network boundary. After you accept the notice, the browser requests raster tiles from the named map provider. That provider can receive your IP address, ordinary request metadata, and the geographic tile region needed for the visible map. The full JSON is not attached to the tile request, but the requested area can still reveal context.

If that boundary is not acceptable for a sensitive file, stop before loading map tiles or use the fictional sample. Read the full privacy explanation and the endpoint privacy guide before preparing a route you plan to share.

Choose the output before you start rendering

Pick the aspect ratio for the place where the video will be used. A 9:16 frame fits vertical short-form video, 1:1 makes a square post, and 16:9 is the normal landscape choice. Starting with the intended shape avoids cropping the route and summary card in a second editor.

The converter offers 720p and 1080p output at 24 or 30 frames per second. A 720p test is a sensible first render for a long route or a phone with limited memory. Once the timing, labels, map attribution, and privacy zone look right, repeat at the final resolution if needed.

Preview and MP4 export use different browser capabilities. The map preview is drawn with Canvas. Video creation also needs WebCodecs and an H.264 configuration that works for the selected frame size and rate. If one combination fails, a smaller resolution or different frame rate may still work.

What the converter cannot repair

A Google Timeline to video converter can only use points that exist in the selected export. It cannot sign in to Google, restore an encrypted backup, recover a deleted trip, or fetch history stored on another phone. If a month is missing, fix or restore the history in Google Maps before exporting a new JSON file.

Wrong locations need similar care. The route filter can flag suspicious movement and remove a limited kind of sharp return jump, but it does not know the correct road, venue, or activity. Use the wrong-location checklist when the source route is inaccurate, and use the missing-trips guide when an expected journey is absent.

If the parser reports an empty, malformed, or unsupported file, keep the JSON private. The local troubleshooting guide separates a zero-byte export, invalid JSON, an older unsupported structure, and a valid file with no usable points.

Continue editing only after the route is safe

The downloaded MP4 is a normal finished video file. You can keep it as-is, post it through your preferred service, or import it into another editor for captions, licensed music, or a short introduction. The route, labels, and summary card are already baked into the frames.

If CapCut is your next step, use the separate guide to editing a Google Timeline video in CapCut. It explains the handoff without calling the MP4 a CapCut template. Do the privacy review before that handoff; another editor cannot restore points removed by the privacy zone, and it can introduce its own storage and sharing boundaries.

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