Free browser-based travel map animation
Choose the Timeline.json exported from Google Maps, select a date range, preview your route, and create an animated H.264 MP4. Your Timeline file is processed in this browser—no account, app install, location permission, or file upload required.
Load your file or try the fictional sample journey first.
It turns a Timeline.json export from Google Maps into an animated map that travels along your route. Instead of reading raw location data, you get a downloadable MP4 that tells the story of a trip.
The complete workflow stays in one page. Start with the fictional sample if you want to test browser compatibility before opening a sensitive location file.
Use the export control inside the Google Maps mobile app. Save the resulting Timeline.json somewhere your browser can access, such as the Files app on iPhone or a local Downloads folder. A general Google Takeout archive may use an older structure that this video workflow does not accept.
The visualizer reads and parses the selected JSON locally. It looks for reconstructed visits and trips, and can optionally fall back to recent raw location estimates. The original file is never edited.
Choose a month range or exact dates, give the video a title, select camera behavior, duration, frame rate, distance unit, and portrait, square, or landscape output. Preview before spending time on a full-resolution render.
After you approve the map privacy notice, the browser requests the required map tiles, draws each animation frame, and encodes an H.264 MP4. Download it when complete, or use the share action when your browser supports a native share sheet.
Get the right input file
The most common failure is choosing a legacy Takeout file instead of the device-side Timeline.json expected by the current workflow. The labels below match the mobile export path used by the visualizer.
On iPhone, open Google Maps and tap your profile picture. Make sure you are using the Google account whose Timeline you want to visualize. You do not need to grant this web page location access.
In the English iPhone interface, go to Settings, then Personal content. Interface wording and placement can change by platform or app version, so update Google Maps if the export option is missing.
Select Export Timeline data and save Timeline.json to the Files app. On Android, use the equivalent Timeline export option available in Google Maps settings and save or transfer the JSON to a browser-accessible folder.
Do not rename or manually edit the file unless you understand its structure. If the visualizer reports only raw signals or no usable locations, first confirm that visits and trips appear correctly inside Google Maps, then export again.
Google can change menu labels and export formats. This tool is independent from Google and cannot restore deleted history or retrieve data that was not included in your export.
A good timeline video is a balance between geographic context, pace, output size, and the shape of the screen where it will be watched.
Use month selection for a broad recap or exact dates for one trip. A narrow period reduces unrelated jumps and usually makes the route easier to read. At least two usable location points are required.
Conservative outlier filtering removes short, physically implausible round trips. An optional accuracy limit excludes low-confidence raw estimates. These controls reduce noise, but they cannot reconstruct missing travel or guarantee exact mileage.
Fixed zoom preserves geographic context; steady following keeps the trip centered; dynamic following adjusts more actively as the route changes; close-up emphasizes local movement. Previewing is the fastest way to choose.
Portrait 1080×1920 fits Reels, TikTok, Shorts, and phone-first stories. Landscape 1920×1080 works for YouTube and presentations. Square output is useful for flexible social feeds and provides lower-resolution options for a faster test.
A longer duration gives dense trips more time to breathe. A higher frame rate appears smoother but requires more frames, memory, encoding time, and a larger output. Test a short, lower-resolution version before a final export.
The title and selected period are drawn into the finished animation. Distance can follow the browser locale automatically or be set to kilometers or miles. Keep the title short enough to remain readable on a phone.
Both use your location history, but they solve different tasks. Knowing the boundary prevents false expectations before you export a sensitive file.
| Capability | This visualizer | Google Maps Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Create a short animated travel-map MP4 from an exported JSON file. | Record, review, edit, and manage places and journeys associated with your Google account and device. |
| Account connection | No Google sign-in or account connection. | Runs as part of Google Maps and your signed-in account experience. |
| Data source | A Timeline.json file you select manually. | The Timeline data available on your device and account setup. |
| Edits and synchronization | Read-only. It does not change, restore, or sync your Timeline. | Lets you review and edit Timeline records where supported. |
| Output | Downloadable H.264 MP4 in portrait, square, or landscape format. | Interactive Timeline views rather than a rendered social video. |
“Local processing” has a precise meaning here. The Timeline file itself is not uploaded, but displaying a real map still requires network requests.
File reading, route extraction, date filtering, Canvas drawing, and video encoding happen in the browser. The tool does not require an account or send the selected JSON to a MagicCreator application server. Reloading the page clears the in-memory session.
When you approve map loading, the browser requests map images from CARTO using OpenStreetMap data. CARTO receives tile coordinates for the areas shown plus ordinary network information such as your IP address. Those tile coordinates can reveal regions present in the selected journey.
Your final video may reveal dates, route shapes, cities, home or work areas, and travel patterns. Review the entire preview and finished file before posting. Consider selecting only the trip dates you intend to share instead of an entire year.
The fictional sample exercises parsing, map loading, animation, and encoding without opening your own Timeline. It is the best first step on an unfamiliar browser, shared computer, or device with limited memory.
Google has used more than one location-history structure. The tool reports what it finds instead of silently pretending every JSON file is equivalent.
Exports containing reconstructed Timeline journeys provide the clearest route and distance. The parser accepts direct arrays and exports containing semanticSegments, then preserves the available chronological route information.
Some recent exports contain rawSignals or raw location estimates without processed visits and trips. You can continue after a warning, but the route may be noisy or incomplete and the displayed distance is only an estimate.
Older Takeout location-history structures are not the intended input. If you receive a legacy-format message, export Timeline data from the current Google Maps mobile app instead of uploading an old archive.
Map preview needs Canvas; MP4 creation additionally needs browser H.264 encoding support. Safari 16.4 or newer is the practical iPhone baseline. Other current desktop and mobile browsers may support some or all formats, which the tool checks before rendering.
Most failures come from the wrong export format, too little usable data in the selected period, blocked map requests, or a browser that cannot encode the requested video size.
Confirm that the file is the Timeline.json exported from the current Google Maps app, not an arbitrary JSON file or an older Google Takeout location archive. Export again after updating the app.
Choose a wider date range and check whether the same visits and trips are visible in Google Maps Timeline. If the export has only raw data, accept the fallback only if you are comfortable with a less accurate route.
Turn on conservative GPS outlier filtering, add a sensible accuracy limit for raw data, and narrow the dates to one coherent journey. Impossible jumps can be filtered, but genuine gaps cannot be recreated.
Try a square 480p or 720p format, a lower frame rate, a shorter video, and close memory-heavy tabs. If the browser reports no encoder, switch to a supported current browser rather than repeatedly retrying the same settings.
Approve the map privacy notice and check content blockers, strict tracking settings, VPN rules, or network filters that may block CARTO. File parsing can succeed even when the external map image requests fail.
Direct answers about Timeline.json exports, privacy, iPhone support, MP4 creation, map accuracy, and how this tool differs from a desktop Timeline viewer.
A Google Timeline visualizer turns location-history data into a more useful visual form. This particular tool reads an exported Timeline.json file and creates an animated travel-map MP4. Other products may instead provide an interactive viewer, heatmap, statistics dashboard, converter, or long-term archive.
You can preview the route contained in your exported file on a desktop browser, but this is not a full replacement for Google Maps Timeline. It does not offer an editable day-by-day calendar, account synchronization, search across years, or cloud storage; its main task is travel video creation.
No. The visualizer reads the selected Timeline.json inside your browser and performs route processing and video encoding locally. Loading the map does contact CARTO for map tiles, which exposes requested map areas and ordinary network information such as your IP address to that provider.
The web interface is designed to accept a Timeline.json saved to the Files app. MP4 creation requires Safari 16.4 or newer with H.264 support. Browser capability and available memory still determine which resolutions and frame rates can be rendered successfully.
Yes. Choose Portrait 1080×1920 for a vertical video suited to Reels, TikTok, Shorts, and phone-first sharing. You can also choose square formats or Landscape 1920×1080. Preview the camera behavior because a long, wide route may frame differently in a narrow portrait canvas.
Some exports contain raw location estimates but no reconstructed visits or trips. The visualizer can use those estimates after warning you, but the path may contain noise, gaps, and inaccurate distance. Check that visits and trips appear in Google Maps, then export again for a better result.
No. It can only visualize usable records already present in the file you choose. It cannot connect to your Google account, recover device data, repair Timeline synchronization, infer missing journeys, or restore records that Google Maps did not export.
No. Accuracy depends on the exported records, GPS quality, gaps, Google's reconstruction, raw-data fallback, filtering, and map projection. Treat the animation as a personal travel visualization rather than an authoritative mileage log, legal record, or safety-tracking tool.
No. MagicCreator and this visualizer are independent and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google. Google Maps and related product names are trademarks of their respective owner. Map images use CARTO tiles and OpenStreetMap data with attribution.
Start with the fictional sample, then load only the date range you want to turn into a downloadable map video.
