Driftlog › Compare travel trackers › Timeline alternatives
If you want what Timeline did, the route, the iPhone apps that record it are Arc Timeline, Fog of World and Track My Journey, and the self-hosted Dawarich and OwnTracks. If you only want the places you stopped at, Apple Maps Visited Places does that in the 32 countries where Apple offers it. If you only want the countries and cities with dates, Driftlog. Driftlog is not a Timeline replacement: it does not record routes.
Where I stand. I make Driftlog, one of the apps on this page, so weigh what follows accordingly. I have tried to say where the other apps are the better choice.
Google did not remove Timeline. It moved it onto the phone. It no longer opens on a computer, each signed-in device keeps its own copy, and a backup is an optional encrypted copy on Google's servers. If your Timeline looks empty on a new phone or on the web, that is usually why. How to turn it on, export it and count the countries in it is in my Timeline guide, and the built-in iPhone methods are compared in keeping a travel log automatically on iPhone.
You need an alternative if you do not want it tied to a Google Account, if you want the data in a form you control, or if all you wanted was a list of places.
| App | What it records | Old data it can take in | Listed price (US App Store) | App Store privacy label | Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arc Timeline 4 | Where you go, how you get there and how long you stay. Its description says all data is stored on your device, with no accounts. Needs iOS 26 | Not stated on its store page | Monthly $4.99 · Yearly $44.99 · Lifetime $179.99 | Data Not Linked to You | No listing found |
| Fog of World | Your tracks, in the background, shown as fog cleared from a world map. No account | GPX and KML track files | $30.00 to buy. No in-app purchases | Data Not Collected | Yes |
| Track My Journey | Routes in real time, with a route history | Not stated on its store page | Offline Lifetime Access $29.99 · Cloud $9.99 monthly or $59.99 yearly | Data Used to Track You · Data Linked to You | Yes |
| Dawarich | Your position, logged in the background to a server you host or to its cloud | Photo import added in version 2.7, on the paid plans | Cloud Pro Monthly $17.99 · Cloud Pro Annual $129.99 · Cloud Lite $49.99 · Selfhoster Pro $29.99 | Data Linked to You | Yes |
| OwnTracks | An open-source location logger. You provide the server | Not stated on its store page | Free. No in-app purchases listed | Data Not Collected | Yes |
| Apple Maps Visited Places | Places you stopped at, such as restaurants and shops. Not routes. iOS 26 and later, 32 countries and regions | Nothing. It starts when you turn it on | Free | Built in. Apple says it is end-to-end encrypted | No |
| Driftlog (mine) | Countries, regions, cities and dates. Not routes | Earlier trips, from the location saved in your photos | Free to download. Driftlog Premium $6.99, once | Data Not Collected | Yes |
The table scrolls sideways on a phone.
No store description in this table names Google Maps Timeline as something the app can import. If you have a Timeline export, the free Driftlog Counter reads it in your browser, with nothing uploaded, and gives you the countries in it. It does not move the routes anywhere.
See Driftlog on the App Store See it on Google Play
For routes, Arc Timeline 4 and Fog of World record them on the phone, and Dawarich and OwnTracks record them to a server you control. For the places you stopped at, Apple Maps Visited Places works in the 32 countries where Apple offers it. For countries and cities with dates and no routes, Driftlog.
Yes. Google moved Timeline onto the phone: it is saved on each signed-in device, it no longer opens on a computer, and a backup is an optional encrypted copy on Google's servers.
No store description among the apps on this page names Google Maps Timeline as something it can import. Fog of World imports GPX and KML track files. The free Driftlog Counter reads a Timeline export in the browser and counts the countries in it.
Partly. Apple Maps Visited Places, on iOS 26 and later, lists places you stopped at, such as restaurants and shops, in 32 countries and regions. It does not record routes. Significant Locations & Routes is kept for the phone's own use, and Apple's guide shows how to clear it, not how to browse it.
Arc Timeline 4 says all data is stored on your device, with an optional backup to your own iCloud. Fog of World says your data is saved on your device. Driftlog keeps its records on the phone and has no server.
Recording a route takes frequent, precise location, and that costs battery in any app. An app that records places and not routes can use the phone's low-power location signal. Driftlog works that way, and gives up the route.
How this page was made. I make Driftlog, one of the apps on this page. Prices, privacy labels and ratings were read from each app's own US App Store page on 4 October 2026, and Android availability from Google Play. I have not tested every app here; what I say about other people's apps is what their store pages say. A store page shows at most ten in-app purchases, and prices change, so follow the link before you decide. Nobody paid to be on this page. If something is wrong or out of date, email me at shiori.sutudio@gmail.com and I will fix it. The full table of twenty apps is on the comparison page.