Dawarich — Self-Hosted Google Timeline Alternative for Location History

Introduction

Dawarich is a self-hosted location history platform that replaces Google Timeline with a privacy-respecting alternative you control. It imports location data from Google Takeout, OwnTracks, GPSLogger, and GPX files, then presents your travels on interactive maps with statistics and timeline views.

What Dawarich Does

• Stores GPS location data on your own server with full control over retention and access
• Visualizes location history on interactive maps with heatmaps, routes, and point clusters
• Imports data from Google Takeout JSON, OwnTracks, GPSLogger, Overland, and standard GPX files
• Calculates travel statistics including distance traveled, countries visited, and time spent per location
• Provides a timeline view showing your movements chronologically with photos and notes

Architecture Overview

Dawarich is built with Ruby on Rails and PostgreSQL with PostGIS extensions for geospatial queries. Location points are stored with timestamps and metadata, indexed spatially for efficient map rendering. The frontend uses Leaflet.js for interactive maps. A Sidekiq background worker processes large imports asynchronously. The OwnTracks HTTP endpoint accepts real-time location updates from mobile devices.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Deploy with Docker Compose; the stack includes Rails, PostgreSQL with PostGIS, Redis, and Sidekiq
• Import Google Timeline data by uploading your Takeout JSON file through the web interface
• Configure OwnTracks on your phone to send location updates to https://your-domain/api/v1/owntracks/points
• Set RAILS_SECRET_KEY_BASE and DATABASE_URL in the .env file before first launch
• Adjust location recording frequency and data retention policies in the settings panel

Key Features

• Complete data sovereignty with location history stored exclusively on your infrastructure
• Multi-source import supporting Google, Apple, OwnTracks, GPSLogger, Overland, and GPX
• Interactive heatmaps showing location density across cities, countries, and continents
• Year-in-review statistics with distance totals, country counts, and travel patterns
• Photo integration that places geotagged images on the map alongside your route

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Google Timeline — Cloud-only with Google accessing your data; Dawarich is self-hosted and private
• OwnTracks — Real-time location sharing only; Dawarich adds historical visualization and statistics
• PhoneTrack (Nextcloud) — Basic tracking plugin; Dawarich provides richer maps, stats, and multi-source imports
• GPSLogger — Recording app without visualization; Dawarich serves as the visualization and storage backend
• Traccar — Vehicle/fleet tracking focused; Dawarich is designed for personal location history

FAQ

Q: How do I export my Google Timeline data? A: Go to Google Takeout, select Location History, export as JSON, and upload the file through the Dawarich import page. Large exports are processed in the background.

Q: Does Dawarich drain my phone battery? A: Dawarich itself does not run on your phone. It receives data from apps like OwnTracks, which use efficient significant-location-change monitoring with minimal battery impact.

Q: Can multiple users share one instance? A: Yes. Dawarich supports multiple user accounts, each with their own private location history and maps.

Q: How much storage does location data require? A: GPS points are compact. A year of continuous tracking at 5-minute intervals uses roughly 50 MB of database storage.

Sources

• https://github.com/Freika/dawarich
• https://dawarich.app