I ride around Buenos Aires on my motorcycle almost every day as a courier, but remembering where I’ve been over time can be a chore. It’s even more difficult to pinpoint where you were on a specific day, say last year or even five years ago, unless you keep a diary, which I don’t. Of course, in many TV shows and films featuring court cases and police investigations, witnesses are able to recall exactly where they were and what they were doing, say seven years ago, but the reality is a little different.
Google Maps Timeline Is Now Mobile Only
Last December, Google inexplicably moved Timeline data to your phone, stating improved privacy. Fortunately, I chose to back up my Timeline data, and when I recently hard reset my phone, I was able to restore it. I’m glad I did because there have recently been occasions when I needed to check where I was and at what time on specific dates.
Incorrect Road Toll Charges
I have a tag on my bike which allows me to pass through tolls without stopping, with some being overhead gantries. Anyway, a few months ago, I saw that my credit card was being charged for trips that I was sure I had never taken, and lo and behold, after checking my Timeline, I was right. However, any efforts to correct it with the operator proved fruitless, but it’s a good example of proving where one was on a certain day.
Apparently, I Never Left Uruguay
Back in January 2020, I rode my motorcycle from Buenos Aires to Punta del Este in Uruguay to join my wife, who was on holiday by the sea with friends. For the return trip, we decided to travel to Colonia, stay the night, and catch the car ferry back to BA. So I rode to Colonia, she caught a bus, and we enjoyed a lovely evening there. The following day, we caught the ferry, and since I have an Argentine Mercosur identity card, I didn’t need to take my British passport. I simply flashed my card before and after, and that was that. Five years later, I’m involved in a bureaucratic red tape exercise to prove that I have never been outside Argentina for longer than 90 days. But the immigration ministry has no record of me leaving Uruguay in January 2020, in spite of the fact that I’ve travelled extensively since then. So I had to prove that I left Uruguay on a certain date, which is when I checked my Google Timeline.
In my case, I have data that goes back to 2016, and on the day in question, there’s a record of me crossing the Rio de la Plata (River Plate), to which I added the ferry booking confirmation. Long story short, I provided the officials with this information to prove where I was, but the wheels of government turn slowly, so now it’s a waiting game.
I find Google Timeline incredibly useful because I’m always on the move, not just in Buenos Aires, but the rest of the country and internationally. I’m sure many people will raise privacy issues, but frankly, the benefits outweigh any of those considerations, for me anyway.
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