How to go back in time on Google Earth

While Google Maps helps us navigate our expansive cities, Google Earth takes things a couple of notches higher (quite literally). It gives us an immersive virtual experience of watching our planet from far above. And with Google Earth’s smooth zoom-ins and 3D buildings, you can spend hours watching those curated, stunning tours.

What’s even more impressive is the historical imagery. You can go back in time to see how a place has changed over several decades. It’s an awesome tool for academic research and just for fun. The feature is available for everyone, and it’s free! And you don’t need a powerful device. Even the most affordable Chromebooks will do the trick.

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Here’s everything you need to know about historical imagery and going back in time on Google Earth.

How to go back in time on Google Earth for desktop

Google Earth’s historical imagery tool combines data from many sources to show a particular area looked. You can go as far back as the 1930s. However, you can use the feature only on the desktop app, which may look a bit dated, but it has everything you’ll need and then some.

1. Visit this link to download Google Earth Pro for your computer.
2. Click Download Earth Pro on Desktop.
3. Agree to Google’s terms. The appropriate app for your OS downloads to your computer.
4. When done, install the app.
5. Open the Google Earth Pro app and look for the search bar in the left pane.
6. Enter the location you want to see older images for and select Search.
7. The app takes you to that place with a nice animation.
8. In the top toolbar, select the clock icon, which reads Show historical imagery. Alternatively, use the app menu on a Mac to find the Historical Imagery option under View.
9. A scrollable date selector appears over the map in the upper-left corner.
10. Scroll through the time and watch the map image change according to the year selected.

If the Google Earth website doesn’t open or work as intended for you on a desktop browser, use Google Chrome, which works best with Google Earth.

In the example screenshots above, the aerial photos of Dubai’s dramatically changing coastline go back to 1984. For some places, it can date back to the 70s, and others can date back to the 30s. Those earlier images may not be as sharp and clear as modern satellite snaps. And there’s a good chance that archival images are available only for a small portion of a town, requiring you to zoom in further for a better look.

How to use Timelapse on Google Earth for web

Timelapse on Google Earth is a dramatized version of its historical imagery tool, with high-quality satellite images handpicked for certain locations. To give you a tour of sorts through these stories, Google Earth curates these under themes like shrinking ice caps and growing urban sprawl.

With animation, an automatic time slider, and the accompanying contextual information, Timelapse is more intuitive. And you don’t need to download an app to use it.

1. Open the Google Earth website and go to Voyager using the helm icon on the left sidebar.
2. Select Nature.
3. Scroll down and select Timelapse in Google Earth. It takes you to one of the preset places and starts the animated time-lapse mode.
4. Go to the right pane to pause the timelapse animation. Use the year selector to jump between times manually.
5. Below the time bar, you’ll see a section that lists Stories with five themes, each with over a half dozen places you can visit virtually. Select one of them to get started.
6. On the next screen, use the arrows on the right pane to scroll through the stories one by one.

Not all places have timelapse enabled. Some may only give you a simple photograph and some information about the geography.

You can also use the Featured Locations section next to Stories to access a larger collection of Timelapses going back to 1984. This selection ranges from deforestation and mining to natural disasters and infrastructure.

How to use Google Earth’s Timelapse on the mobile app

Timelapse is also available on the Google Earth app on top Android phones.

1. Download the Google Earth Android app using the link below.
2. Tap the helm icon on the homepage to enter Voyager mode.

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3. From here, the process is almost identical to what you do on the website.

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Since the historical imagery tool isn’t available on the mobile app, Timelapse is the only way to dive into the archival shots. Google makes Timelapse a fun experience to give you a guided tour of the places that have seen the most noticeable changes. And given it’s a curated trip, the images are always top quality, without any inconsistencies.

How to go back in time on Google Maps for the web

While the historical imagery tool on Google Earth is capable, Google Maps has a few tricks up its sleeve. Google has been recording our streets for over a decade, giving it enough data to show us how a place has changed on the ground. You can read our dedicated post to learn to access street view in Google Maps and go through the steps below to go back in time.

1. Open Google Maps in your preferred browser on the desktop.
2. Drop the yellow Street View guy (Pegman) on a road where street view is available.
3. Click the clock icon in the upper-left corner where the street name is displayed.
4. This shows a small preview of the same location from the year selected on the slider bar. Select a year that you want to compare with the current view.
5. Use the zoom button to display the image on the main screen for a better view.

How to go back in time on Google Maps for Android

Like on desktop, the Google Maps app on Android comes with a timeline feature that allows you to go back in time as far as the street view imagery of that location is available. Since this feature is accessible on your phone, going back in time using Google Maps becomes easier. Here’s how to find the street view timeline.

1. Open Google Maps. Tap Layers and enable Street View if it isn’t already.

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2. Go to the previous screen and zoom into where you want to see the historical imagery. Then, tap the road that is street view enabled.
3. You’ll see a split screen, with the street view at the top and the corresponding map view at the bottom.

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4. Look under the street name at the bottom to see when the latest street view images were taken. On the right, tap See more dates.
5. You’ll see a timeline of older images of that location with date stamps. Scroll to the right to find the oldest one.

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6. Tap a date stamp to see that year’s street view shots. You can similarly jump to other months and years.

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7. Use the close button to return to the previous screen, showing the current view.

Explore the planet (and beyond) with a bird’s-eye view

Going back in time in Google Earth could make you feel nostalgic about how your hometown has changed or help you understand a geographical aspect of a historical place. In either case, it’s fun and enlightening. When you want to go beyond Earth, use the Google Maps space tool to memorize the names of hundreds of lunar craters or gaze at little-known dwarf planets not too far from Earth.

Once you are back to using Google Maps to get driving directions down here on the ground, try out some of Maps’ hidden features that are as impressive as Jupiter’s moons, if not more.