How-to
Google Takeout for Google Maps: What's in the Export and How to Use It
October 2026 · 4 min read
Quick answer
At takeout.google.com, click Deselect all, then tick two boxes:
- Saved gives you every list (Favorites, Want to go, your own lists) as one CSV file each.
- Maps (your places) gives you starred places and your reviews as JSON files.
Google emails a download link, usually within minutes. The full click-by-click is in our guide to exporting Google Maps saved places. This page is about what you find when you open the archive.
The Google Maps options in Takeout
Takeout lists Google products alphabetically, and Google Maps data is split across several of them. That is the part that trips people up: ticking only "Maps" does not export your lists.
| Takeout option | What it holds | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Saved | Your lists: Favorites, Want to go, Travelled and every custom list | One CSV per list |
| Maps (your places) | Starred places and the reviews you wrote | JSON (GeoJSON) |
| Maps | Settings and labelled places such as Home and Work | JSON |
| My Maps | Custom maps you drew at google.com/mymaps | KML / KMZ |
Option names and file names shift a little between accounts and languages, so treat the table as a guide and check your own archive.
What a list CSV looks like
Each list becomes a file named after it, such as Want to go.csv, inside the Saved folder. Open it in any spreadsheet and you get one row per place with these columns:
- Title: the place name.
- Note: whatever you typed on the save. Often the most useful column, because it is the only record of why you saved the place.
- URL: a Google Maps link to the place.
Recent exports also carry Tags and Comment columns. What the CSV does not have is coordinates or an address. The link is the only pointer back to the place, so a tool that wants latitude and longitude has to look each row up again.
What the starred-places file looks like
Stars live outside the list system, which is why they need the second tick box. They arrive as Saved Places.json in the Maps (your places) folder. It is GeoJSON: each entry has the place name, its Google Maps link and its coordinates. A file called Reviews.json next to it holds the reviews and ratings you wrote.
What Takeout leaves out
- Timeline. For most accounts Google now keeps Timeline on the phone, so it is exported from the Google Maps app, not from Takeout. Our guide to saving visited places in Google Maps covers how that system works.
- Lists other people shared with you. Takeout exports your own data. A list you only follow stays with its owner.
- Any kind of plan. The export is a snapshot of names and links. No order, no days, no route, and it goes stale as soon as you save something new.
What to do with the files
- Keep a backup. This is what Takeout is for. Store the archive and you have your saves even if you leave Google.
- Clean up in a spreadsheet. Sort, filter and merge the list CSVs. Handy when years of saves have piled up in one list.
- See them on a custom map. Google My Maps can import a list CSV as a layer. It places each row by searching for its name, so check the pins it comes back with.
- Plan a trip. Skip the files. Open the list in Google Maps, tap Share, copy the link and paste it into the Google Maps list to itinerary tool. It reads the share link, not the Takeout file, and the first list is free with no account. The full walkthrough is in turning Google Maps saved places into an itinerary.
If you are weighing whether Google Maps alone can carry a whole trip, the Triply vs Google Maps comparison goes through where each one is stronger.
Frequently asked questions
Which Google Takeout options hold my Google Maps data?
Two cover almost everything people want: Saved (every list, one CSV file each) and Maps (your places) (starred places and your reviews, as JSON files). The plain Maps option holds settings and labelled places such as Home and Work.
Does the Google Takeout Maps export include coordinates?
The list CSVs do not. Each row has the place name, your note and a Google Maps link, with no latitude, longitude or address. The starred-places file (Saved Places.json) is GeoJSON and does carry coordinates.
Is my Google Maps Timeline in Google Takeout?
For most accounts, no longer. Google moved Timeline to on-device storage, so it is exported from the Google Maps app on your phone rather than from Takeout.
Can I turn a Takeout export into a trip plan?
Not directly: a CSV of names and links has no order, no days and no map. If the goal is a trip, skip the export and paste the list's share link at triplyplanner.com/google-maps-to-itinerary, which reads every place and note and groups them into days. The first list is free with no account.