Google has unveiled a new feature for its Maps software that allows users to keep track of where they have been, but some commentators have branded the update "scary".
The opt-in feature, called Your Timeline, keeps track of your movements throughout the day, recording places you have visited, photos you have taken and points on the map that may have particular significance, such as your home, work or your parents' house.
Launching the feature, Google Maps product manager Gerard Sanz, wrote on the company's blog: "Your Timeline allows you to visualise your real-world routines, easily see the trips you've taken and get a glimpse of the places where you spend your time. And if you use Google Photos, we’ll show the photos you took when viewing a specific day, to help resurface your memories."
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Timelines are private and users will be able to delete individual places they have been to, whole days of activity or even their entire history. But some critics have described the service as invasive.
"Your Timeline is terrifyingly scary", says BGR's Chris Smith. "The feature shows you how much user data Google can collect about an individual and how it can correlate that information with data obtained from other services, such as Google Photos."
The new feature "lets you stalk yourself", says Gizmodo. It may be harmless as long as it is private, but in the wrong hands, it is a "serial-killer-grade stash of knowledge", the site says.
"This is also probably a good time to remind you that Google has a two-factor authentication login option," Gizmodo adds, "and if you weren’t using it before, you sure as hell should be now."
