Google Maps uses your home address to give you faster directions and traffic alerts on your commute
To change your home address in Google Maps, open the app on your phone or computer, tap or click your profile picture in the top right corner, select Settings, then choose Home or Work under the "Your places" section. Type in your new address, confirm it, and save. The change takes effect when ready across all your devices signed into that Google account.
This feature is optional — you do not have to set a home address at all. But if you have one saved, it appears as a quick destination button when you open Maps, and Google uses it to show you traffic conditions on your usual route. Changing it is straightforward, but there are a few things to know about what information you are storing and who can see it.
Key Takeaways
- Your home address in Google Maps is stored on your Google account and syncs across all devices where you are signed in.
- Only you can see your home address in Google Maps — it does not appear on your public profile or in search results.
- If you share your location with someone in real time (through Google Maps or another app), they can see where you are, but not your saved home address unless you tell them.
- Deleting your home address from Google Maps does not delete your location history or other data Google has collected about where you go.
- You can change your home address as many times as you want — there is no limit or waiting period.
Where Google Maps stores your home address
When you save a home address in Google Maps, it is stored on your Google account, not on your phone or computer. This means if you sign into Google Maps on a different device, you will see the same home address there. If you change it on one device, the change appears on all your other devices within a few minutes.
Your home address is private to your account. Google does not show it to other people, sell it to advertisers, or use it in ways that would expose your actual home location to strangers. However, Google does use it internally — to show you traffic on your commute, to personalize search results, and to build a profile of your movement patterns over time.
The difference between your saved address and location history
Your home address in Google Maps is separate from your location history, which is a record of everywhere Google has tracked you. Location history is turned on by default on Android phones and can be turned on or off in your Google account settings. If location history is on, Google records your position throughout the day, even if you never open Maps.
Deleting your home address from Google Maps does not stop location history from being collected. If you want to stop Google from tracking where you go, you need to turn off location history in your Google account settings under Data & Privacy > Web & App Activity > Location History. You can also delete past location history there, but that is a separate action from changing your home address.
What happens if you share your location with someone
If you use Google Maps to share your real-time location with a friend or family member, they can see where you are right now on a map, but they cannot see your saved home address unless you tell them. Real-time location sharing is a temporary feature — you set it for a specific amount of time (usually 15 minutes to 24 hours), and it expires automatically.
The person you share with sees a dot on the map showing your current position and how fast you are moving. They do not see your address history, your saved places, or any other information from your Google account. If you stop sharing your location, they can no longer see where you are.
How to remove your home address entirely
If you decide you do not want a home address saved in Google Maps, you can delete it. Open the app, tap your profile picture, go to Settings, find Home under "Your places," and tap the trash icon or Remove. The address is deleted when ready.
Some people remove their home address because they do not want any saved location tied to their account, or because they are moving and do not want to update it yet. Removing it does not affect anything else in your Google account — your search history, Gmail, or other services stay the same.
Changing your address when you move
When you move to a new home, you can update your address in Google Maps right away. There is no waiting period or limit on how many times you can change it. straightforward go to Settings > Home, delete the old address, and enter the new one.
You may also want to update your address in other places: your Google account profile (under Personal info), your phone's contacts app if you have yourself listed there, and any services that use your address for billing or shipping. Google Maps does not automatically sync with these other places, so you need to update each one separately.
Privacy considerations when saving a home address
Saving your home address in Google Maps is generally safe — it is encrypted in transit and stored securely on Google's servers. The main privacy trade-off is that Google now has a confirmed record of where you live, which it can use to build a more detailed profile of your movements and habits. If you are concerned about this, you can choose not to save a home address and instead search for your address each time you need directions.
If you share your phone with someone else or use a shared computer, be aware that they may be able to see your saved home address if they have access to your Google account. If you want to prevent this, you can set up a separate user account on your device, or you can remove your home address and re-enter it each time you need it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone else see my home address if they use my phone?
Yes, if they open Google Maps and tap your profile picture, they can see your saved home address. If you share your phone with family members or roommates, consider whether you want them to know your home address is saved there. You can remove it, or you can ask them not to look at your Maps settings.
Does changing my home address in Google Maps change it anywhere else?
No. Google Maps is separate from your Google account profile, Gmail, or other Google services. If you want to update your address in multiple places, you need to do each one separately. Your Google account profile address is under Personal info in account settings.
What if I do not want Google to know where I live?
Do not save a home address in Google Maps. You can still use the app to search for directions — just type in your address each time. You can also turn off location history in your Google account settings to prevent Google from tracking your movements throughout the day.
Can I set multiple home addresses?
Google Maps only lets you save one home address and one work address. If you need to save other locations, you can add them to your Saved places list with custom names, and they will appear as quick-access buttons in the app.
If I delete my home address, does Google forget where I live?
Deleting your saved home address removes it from Google Maps, but Google may still have records of where you live based on your location history, search patterns, or other data. If you want to limit what Google knows about your location, turn off location history in your account settings.