Google Earth is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a major update that lets users explore the past. The update adds historical Street View imagery, allowing people to “travel back in time” and see what streets and landmarks looked like in the past.
Since its launch in 2005, Google Earth has become one of the most widely used mapping tools in the world. It was downloaded over 100 million times in its first week. In the past year alone, users searched for places more than 2 billion times.
Over the years, the platform has played a key role in real-world events. It helped first responders during Hurricane Katrina in the US, supported scientists in discovering coral reefs in Australia and fossil sites that helped in the discovery of Australopithecus sediba, and even helped Saroo Brierley reunite with his family (a story later adapted into the film Lion).
The new historical Street View joins other tools like Timelapse, which shows how the planet changed over decades, and custom map creation tools for storytelling and education.
Google Earth is also used by professionals for urban planning, environmental research, and solar panel assessments.
You can read more about 20 years of Google Earth here.
