Google Earth now lets you ‘time travel’ and go back 80 years

Google is planning to let people time travel way back to the 1930s. The search engine is set to bring in some new updates to its satellite imagery platform Google Earth. Using the new features, you can go as far back as 80 years and view satellite and aerial images from that time period. 

Right now, Google Earth lets people see images of most locations till just a few decades ago. In a statement about the update, Google said that with the new update some cities, like London, Berlin, Warsaw and Paris, will have imagery dating back to the 1930s. Basically, the time frame for most places will be doubled, letting people “time travel” and see what they used to look like. 

Users can even make a side-by-side comparison of the cities and watch how they have changed over the years. 

In the announcement, Google shared pictures of what San Francisco was like in 1938 and what it is today in 2024, drawing comparisons between the two and seeing how much the geography of the region has changed. 

The sample photo shows how in 1938, the ports in San Francisco were used mainly for shipping. However, the place is now filled with restaurants and cruise ships, as per the latest Google Earth picture provided by Google. 

Users can access the new Google Earth feature on both mobile and web. The updates are expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks. 

Meanwhile, besides the historical imagery, Google said that it was also expanding Street View on Google Maps in almost 80 countries. 

You can also expect the pictures to becomes much more sharp and clear as the company has plans to improve their quality on Google Earth and Google Maps. It will be turning to new AI models to do so. 

Google Earth lets users see the planet and its several locations as viewed by satellites. It is a web and computer program that provides you with a 3D representation of Earth. People can see cities and landscapes from various angles.