But I want this data, and it's a dilemma for me. I want to look back in my past 20 years from now and see where I was at every moment, it's super cool information to have and would help me inform my history.
This is probably a good question for all you guys. Is there an open source alternative location data logger that I could use instead for something like this?
* https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmtracker/
... but I think it is perhaps a bit too trip oriented. It sounds like you want something more life oriented.
It is an interesting idea. With public key cryptography you could securely log and encrypt your every movement. Even if the phone was seized later there would be no access to the data. The private key required to decrypt the data could be kept on the phone encrypted with a strong passphrase or in a completely different secure location.
I always type in my home address, In fact it never remembers anything and I love that.
I'm glad Google gave me the option to turn it off and still use their product for free.
Because: -it asks me every time I open it. Every day. -it won’t save places or favorites -it won’t save local maps -it won’t save my home address or common routes
Basically, they don’t do any local storage and force you to share data with google to get “basic” functionality that Apple Maps and other maps apps provide because storing local settings is dead simple (although local settings are encrypted and synced to cloud and can’t be read or used for analysis).
You can still look up places, get navigation and as far as I am aware literally every other features of Google maps except your timeline.
It works just fine with it off. Although on some devices, it prompts me to re-enable it every time I launch it (as well as turn on location sharing). I never get these prompts on my phones, but always on my Samsung tablet.
Nowadays it lets you use itself without location permission.