1. Check which Google account you're using
This is the most common cause. If you have several Google accounts (personal, work, an old one), Google Maps only shows the lists of the active account. Tap your profile picture at the top right and check the address. Switch accounts if needed.
2. Check that the list isn't hidden
Every list can be hidden from the map. When it is, the places are still in the list, but their pins no longer appear. Open your lists, tap the three dots next to the list in question, and choose Show on your map.
3. Compare with a computer
Open google.com/maps on a computer, with the same account, then Saved. If your places are there, the data exists and it's the phone app that isn't syncing: update it, check your connection, then restart it.
4. Look at the size of the list
According to Google's help pages, saved lists can't hold more than 3,000 places, and beyond that places may not display correctly. Users also report slowdowns and missing places with very large collections. If a list is huge, split it into several smaller ones.
5. Check that a shared list still exists
If the missing list was shared with you by someone else, its creator may have deleted it or stopped sharing it. Google then shows a message saying the list can't be found. In that case it's gone for everyone: only its creator can share it again.
6. Don't confuse it with Timeline
If what you're looking for is the places you've been to (rather than the ones you saved), those live in Timeline. Google has moved Timeline onto your phone: it can no longer be viewed from a computer, and it only contains what your device recorded.
7. Check with a Google Takeout export
To know for sure what Google still has, request an export at takeout.google.com with only Saved ticked. You get one file per list, with the name of each place. If a list is in the export, it still exists on your account. Our guide to exporting Google Maps lists walks through every step.
Never lose your places again
A Google Maps list exists in one copy only, on your account. For a collection that took you years, keep a copy somewhere else:
- Run a Takeout export from time to time, and keep the file.
- Or import your places into MyFavsMap: the copy is independent of Google Maps. It stays there even if a list a friend shared with you disappears, and your places are also sorted by category and region, ready for an itinerary.
Keep in mind that a copy doesn't update itself: places you save in Google Maps afterwards will need to be imported again.
