Prepare the year

First export a current Timeline JSON file from the phone that stores the history. Open Timeline to Video, select January 1 through December 31 for the intended year, and confirm that the file actually covers that range.

A partial year is still usable, but label it honestly. Missing days should not be converted into zero travel, and an unknown movement mode should stay unknown rather than becoming a flight or drive.

Create the Year in Review story

The Year in Review template is designed for a quicker monthly or quarterly rhythm and a final statistics card. Use totals as a summary of valid imported points, not as an audited record of every journey.

  1. Protect sensitive route endpoints. Follow the endpoint privacy-zone guide before generating map previews, then review the full route for other clues.
  2. Review outliers. Remove impossible jumps and confirm long-distance arcs. Keep uncertain transport labels unknown.
  3. Choose Year in Review. Use a duration that gives important stops time to register instead of compressing the whole year into unreadable motion.
  4. Write a specific title. “A Year in Motion” plus the year is clearer than exposing exact dates or a full legal name.
  5. Choose licensed music and 9:16 output. Preview the safe areas for Reels, TikTok, and Shorts, then export a 720p test before committing to a longer 1080p render.
  6. Watch the finished MP4. Check the opening, date and distance overlay, final route, summary totals, audio, and closing brand card before sharing.

Make the recap understandable

Use the custom date line for a broad label such as a season, quarter, or year rather than naming every stop. Let short local movement retain enough screen time to be visible while compressing long flights. The current final card reports selected-route distance, active days, and route-point count; it does not infer city or country totals.

For a smaller story, select a single holiday and use Travel Film. For repeated home-to-work patterns, Commuter Truth can emphasize repetition without revealing the exact home marker.

Share without sharing the source data

The MP4 is generated locally and becomes shareable only when you download it or open the system share sheet. A preset URL can reproduce visual choices but must not contain route coordinates, dates, labels, or user media. Map tiles still come from a third-party service; see Privacy.

If the annual file fails before editing, use the Timeline JSON troubleshooting guide rather than uploading it to a public validator.

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.