Why deleting a “Home” label is not enough

A map does not need the word “Home” to reveal a residence. A dense cluster of overnight stops, the repeated beginning of commutes, or the final point of many journeys can identify it. The tool does not detect or label a high-frequency location as Home or Work; you must decide whether the selected route's endpoints are sensitive.

A privacy zone changes the points used by the preview and the rendered video. It does not edit the original Google Timeline file or remove data from the Google account.

Apply and verify a privacy zone

Export the file using the phone instructions, then open it in Timeline to Video. Do this before adding public-facing titles or sharing screenshots.

  1. Limit the date range. Work only with the trip or period needed for the video.
  2. Check the two route endpoints. Confirm from context whether the first or last selected point represents home, work, school, or another place you should hide. The current tool does not find arbitrary clusters in the middle of a route.
  3. Enable endpoint privacy zones. Choose a radius; the tool removes recorded points inside circles centered on the route's original first and last points. It does not blur points, move them to a boundary, or let you choose a different center.
  4. Review every transition. Check the route start, route end, overview frame, date and distance overlay, and summary card for clues that still identify the location.
  5. Export from the sanitized preview. The final MP4 must use the same transformed route. Play it once before sharing.

Reduce indirect clues as well

Use a broad area label instead of a street or neighborhood, avoid exact dates when they are unnecessary, and remove photos that contain house numbers, school names, boarding passes, or embedded location text. A route can also reveal routine timing, so consider shortening the beginning and end of repeated journeys.

Shared preset links should contain only presentation settings. Do not put coordinates, exact trip dates, filenames, city names, or private titles into a share URL.

Know the map-provider boundary

The JSON and sanitized route processing remain local, but map tiles are requested from a third-party provider after consent. That provider can see requested tile coordinates and the IP address. Endpoint privacy can remove the route's beginning and end, but it cannot guarantee that no other segment reveals a sensitive place, and it does not make map requests offline. Read Privacy before using a highly sensitive file.

Continue with the yearly recap guide once the route is safe to show.

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.