WHAT THIS TOOL DOES
A Google Timeline visualizer built for the whole journey
A Google Maps Timeline export is useful data, but a JSON file is not a story you can watch or share. Timeline Visualizer turns the places and movements in that export into an animated map. You choose the part of your history that matters, preview how the route moves, and create an MP4 in square, portrait, or landscape format. The work happens in the browser tab, so you do not need an account or a server-side upload.
This page is both the tool and the guide. You can begin with the upload area above, try the fictional sample without exposing personal data, and then use the explanations below when you need help exporting the right file or choosing video settings. The visualizer is designed for travel recaps, yearly route summaries, relocation stories, road trips, and any moment where a moving route explains more than a static screenshot.
FROM PHONE TO MP4
How to create a Google Maps Timeline video
The shortest path is export, review, and render. Keep the browser tab open while the MP4 is being created, especially for long routes or high-resolution formats.
- 01
Export Timeline data on your phone
In Google Maps, open your profile menu and Timeline settings. On iPhone, look under Settings and Personal content for Export Timeline data. On Android, the export can appear under Timeline settings or the device Location services settings. Save the resulting JSON file somewhere you can select from the browser.
- 02
Open the JSON in Timeline Visualizer
Choose the exported file in the tool above. The parser checks current direct-array exports, files containing semanticSegments, and raw location signals that can be used as a warned fallback. If the file is malformed, empty, or an unsupported legacy Takeout format, the tool explains what went wrong instead of silently drawing a misleading route.
- 03
Select the journey you want to tell
Choose a month range or switch to exact dates. Give the video a title, choose kilometers or miles, and pick a camera style. The summary shows how many usable points are in the selection and an approximate distance, which helps you catch the wrong date range before rendering.
- 04
Preview, then create the MP4
Confirm the map privacy notice before the visualizer requests map tiles. Preview the animation, adjust the period or camera if needed, and create the MP4. When encoding finishes, play the result in the page, download it, or open the device share sheet when supported.
CONTROL THE STORY
Video settings that match where you will share it
The best format depends on the destination and the length of the route. Higher resolution and frame rate can look smoother, but they also require more memory, time, and encoder support.
Square
Use 480p for a fast compatibility test, 720p for a balanced export, or 1080p when the device has enough memory. Square video works well for general social posts and route summaries that should not favor a vertical or horizontal screen.
Portrait
The 1080×1920 portrait option is intended for Stories, Reels, Shorts, and TikTok-style viewing. A close-up or dynamic camera can keep the moving marker visible on a narrow canvas, but an extremely long trip may be easier to understand with steadier movement.
Landscape
The 1920×1080 landscape option gives the map more horizontal space for YouTube, presentations, and trip recaps viewed on a desktop or television. It is one of the heavier exports, so preview at a smaller square format first if browser support is uncertain.
Camera movement
Fixed zoom keeps the framing stable. Steady following reduces abrupt changes and is the safest general choice. Dynamic following reacts more strongly to the route, while Close-up stays nearer the moving point. The preview uses the same route and aspect ratio as the export.
PRIVACY BY DEFAULT
What stays on your device—and what reaches the map provider
Your Timeline JSON can reveal homes, workplaces, routines, medical visits, and long-term travel patterns. The file is parsed locally in this page. Timeline Visualizer does not upload the JSON, generated video, chosen dates, video title, or coordinates to a site account because the site has no account or file-storage feature. Do not paste your route into a support message, and avoid sharing the original JSON with anyone who only needs the finished video.
A map still needs imagery. After you select a journey, the tool asks for explicit consent before contacting CARTO for the map tiles covering that route. CARTO receives ordinary network information, including your IP address, and the requested tile coordinates can reveal the map areas used in the journey. If you do not accept that boundary, you can inspect the file summary but should not load the map. The generated MP4 is safer to share than the source file, but it still displays the route you selected.
FORMAT SUPPORT
Which Google Timeline JSON files work?
Google has changed Timeline storage and export formats over time. The visualizer deliberately checks the file structure and tells you which path it can use.
Current phone exports
Direct-array Timeline JSON exported from a recent Google Maps app is supported. These files can contain reconstructed visits and trips that are already useful for a clean animation.
semanticSegments exports
Older-but-usable exports containing semanticSegments are supported. The parser reads paths, timestamps, and segment information without sending the file away for conversion.
Raw location signals
When only rawSignals are present, the tool can offer a warned fallback. Accuracy and outlier controls help reduce obvious noise, but the resulting route and distance are estimates and may include gaps.
Unsupported legacy archives
Some old Google Takeout archives use structures that do not contain a usable Timeline journey. If the tool identifies a legacy or unsupported format, export Timeline data from the Google Maps app on the phone where the Timeline is stored.
TROUBLESHOOTING
If the Timeline will not load or the video will not export
Most failures come from the wrong JSON file, too few usable locations, missing map consent, or browser encoder limits.
- 01
The file says unsupported or has no locations
Check that you selected the Timeline export itself rather than a ZIP file, settings file, or unrelated JSON. Open Google Maps on the phone that owns the Timeline, confirm that visits and trips appear, then export again. A valid JSON file can still contain no usable journey points.
- 02
The route looks noisy or jumps
Use conservative GPS outlier filtering and, for raw data, keep a reasonable accuracy limit. Narrow the date range and inspect the preview. Timeline data can contain inaccurate estimates, missing sections, flights, or timezone information; the visualizer cannot reconstruct movements that were never recorded.
- 03
Preview works but Create MP4 is disabled
MP4 creation requires the browser WebCodecs API with H.264 encoding. Safari 16.4 or newer is the primary supported path. The app probes every size and frame-rate combination, so a large format may be unavailable even when a smaller square video works.
- 04
The tab becomes slow during export
Start with 480p or 720p, 24 fps, and a shorter duration. Keep the tab in the foreground and avoid locking the device. Portrait and landscape 1080p exports render many more pixels and may exceed the memory or thermal limits of an older phone.