Description

Timeline Visualizer turns the location history that Google Maps quietly records on your phone into a short animated travel video. Export Timeline.json from Google Maps, drop it into the site, pick a date range and an optional music track, and it renders a 9:16 vertical MP4: a map with a marker moving along your real route, the date and distance ticking up, and a final zoom-out that shows the whole trip at once. The result is ready for Instagram Reels, TikTok, or sharing with friends.

https://www.timelinevisualizer.net/

WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT

Everything runs in the browser. The Timeline.json file is never uploaded - there is no backend and no account. Location history is some of the most sensitive data a person owns, so keeping it on the device is the core design decision, not an afterthought. Video encoding happens client-side using modern browser APIs (Canvas + WebCodecs), which means no waiting in a server queue and no copy of your movements sitting on someone else's disk.

KEY FEATURES

- Renders directly from the official Google Maps Timeline export (Timeline.json)
- 9:16 vertical MP4 output with optional background music
- Real route drawn on a map, moving marker, date and distance counters, end-of-trip zoom-out
- Pick any date range from your history to make a video of a single trip
- 100% client-side rendering: nothing is uploaded, no signup required
- Works in desktop and mobile browsers, no app to install
- Interface in English, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Traditional Chinese

PRICING

The core tool is free with no registration. An optional one-time $2.99 Pro unlock adds dark and Voyager map styles, route colors, an end-of-video recap card, emoji or photo markers, custom music, a kept-trail effect, a watermark handle and one-tap export of all formats. No subscription.
https://www.timelinevisualizer.net/pro/

GUIDES

Getting the data out of Google Maps is the confusing part, so the site documents it properly:
- How to export Google Maps Timeline on Android and iPhone: https://www.timelinevisualizer.net/how-to-export-google-timeline/
- Timeline.json is empty? Every cause and the fix: https://www.timelinevisualizer.net/blog/timeline-json-empty-file-fix/
- Step-by-step walkthrough from export to finished video: https://www.timelinevisualizer.net/blog/how-to-use-timeline-visualizer/
- More guides on the blog: https://www.timelinevisualizer.net/blog/

BACKGROUND

Timeline Visualizer builds on the MIT-licensed open-source google-timeline-visualizer project (an Android app) and rebuilds the idea for the web, so nothing needs installing and the data never leaves the device. An honest comparison of the two, and when the original app is the better pick: https://www.timelinevisualizer.net/blog/timeline-visualizer-web-vs-app/