Google Earth now lets you see how the world looked 80 years ago — here’s how

Coming soon to Google Earth: Time travel.

According to Google, some new updates on the way to the company’s satellite imagery platform Google Earth, will allow users to “travel back in time” and view satellite and aerial images that go as far back as 80 years ago.

Google Earth lets you explore more of the past

In its update announcement, Google says some cities, including London, Berlin, Warsaw and Paris, will have imagery dating back to the 1930s. As of right now, most locations on Google Earth go no further back than just a few decades ago. The new changes will double the time frame for even those locations.

San Francisco in 2024
Credit: Google

Google Earth users will be able to go back in time and compare those historical photos with current ones too. Google gives an example of comparing the San Francisco of 1938 with 2024 and seeing how much the geography of the region changed. In the sample photos provided by Google, one can see how in the 1938 photo, ports in San Francisco were used mainly for shipping. The same location in more recent photos are filled with restaurants and cruise ships.

The historical imagery will be available for Google Earth users on both web and mobile.

Google’s developer blog says that these updates should be rolled out in the “upcoming weeks” In addition to the historical satellite and aerial imagery, Google also announced it was expanding Street View on Google Maps in almost 80 countries. The company will also improve image quality by sharpening imagery on Google Earth and Google Maps using new AI models.