Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 7, 2026
Timeline Generator & Visualizer (“the app”, “we”, “our”) turns a Google Maps Timeline export into an animated journey video. This policy explains, in plain language, exactly what the app does and does not do with your data. If you read nothing else, read this: your Timeline data is processed entirely on your device and is never uploaded anywhere.
Our promise
Timeline Generator & Visualizer has no user accounts, no cloud sync, and no server component of any kind. There is no backend for your data to be sent to, because none exists. The app does not use an analytics SDK, a crash-reporting SDK, an advertising SDK, or an advertising identifier. It never requests permission to read your device location.
What stays on your device
The table below lists everything the app stores, all of it locally on your phone:
| Data | Where | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| App settings | Local app preferences | Default style, dark mode, distance unit, language, map-tile consent flag |
| Project index | App documents folder | Named saved configurations you create (source file reference, selected trip, style) |
| Video library index | App documents folder | Metadata for videos you've rendered or imported |
| Video thumbnails | App documents folder | Small preview images for your video library grid |
| Rendered videos | Your device's Photos library | The finished MP4s you create — visible to you like any photo or video |
| Map tile cache | App cache folder (max 100 MB, auto-evicted) | Downloaded map tiles, cached so they aren't re-fetched |
| Last-picked file reference | Secure system bookmark | Lets you re-open your last Timeline file without picking it again |
None of these are backed up to iCloud or Android cloud backup — they are explicitly excluded, because they are meaningless outside of the device that created them.
What we never collect
- Your Timeline JSON file, or any coordinate, place name, or timestamp inside it
- Your name, email address, or any account identifier — there is no sign-in
- Your precise or approximate device location — the app never requests location permission
- Analytics events, crash reports, or usage statistics
- An advertising identifier or any other device fingerprint
- Contacts, calendar, microphone, or camera access — the app never requests these permissions
The app also never writes the contents of your Timeline file to a log, even as an anonymized count. If something goes wrong, error messages surface counts and category names only — never coordinates or place names.
The one thing we send over the network: map tiles
To draw the map behind your journey, Timeline Generator & Visualizer fetches raster map tiles from CARTO (basemaps.cartocdn.com), a map-tile provider built on OpenStreetMap data. This is the only outbound network request the app ever makes.
Each tile request contains only:
- The tile coordinates for the area currently being drawn
- A generic app identifier in the User-Agent header
It does not contain cookies, a referrer, an account identifier, or any part of your Timeline data. CARTO can infer the rough geographic areas you're rendering (at roughly 1–10 km tile granularity) and your IP address, as with any web request — the same way it would for any map you viewed in any app or website. It cannot see your identity, the exact route you drew, or when your underlying Timeline events occurred, because tile requests are batched independently of your trip data.
Before the very first tile is ever requested, the app shows a consent screen explaining exactly this. You can decline, in which case no tiles are fetched and the app renders your trail over a plain background instead. You can withdraw consent at any time from Settings → Privacy → Allow map tiles, which also clears any cached tiles.
Your controls
- Allow map tiles — toggle network access for map tiles on or off at any time in Settings → Privacy.
- Clear tile cache — delete all cached map tiles immediately from Settings → Privacy.
- Delete videos or projects — remove any rendered video or saved project directly from the app; deleting the app itself removes everything else the app stored.
Sharing a style preset
You can share a style preset with another Timeline Generator & Visualizer user via a timelinegen://preset/... link. This link encodes only the style choices themselves (camera mode, compression, aspect ratio, duration, frame rate) in a few bytes — it contains no coordinates, dates, file references, or any text you've typed. The recipient applies the preset to their own Timeline data; nothing of yours is transmitted to them.
Children's privacy
Timeline Generator & Visualizer does not knowingly collect data from anyone, of any age, because it does not collect data at all. The app is not directed at children and contains no social or communication features.
Regional compliance
Because the app collects no personal data and transmits nothing to us, most obligations under the EU GDPR and the California CCPA simply do not apply — there is no data controller relationship between you and us for anything processed inside the app. Our Google Play Data Safety and Apple App Privacy declarations both state: no data collected, no data shared.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we'll update the “Last updated” date above and, for material changes, note it in the app's release notes. Continuing to use the app after a change means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
Questions about this policy or how the app handles data? Email support@timelinegen.app.