[plttn]

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/4388034

>As of Google Maps version 3.2.1, you cannot turn on Location Reporting and History from the Google Maps app for iPhone and iPad. If you have Location History turned on from another Google app, like the Google app, the Google Maps app may still use Location History data stored in your Google account to give you better search results.

[opless]

The location data was initially part of Latitude https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Latitude, it went away for a while, appeared in the iOS Google Maps app, and then moved again to the google app.

I use it for time tracking, time spent at clients sites, etc. It's not perfect, but perfectly good 95% of the time!