The world is constantly moving, and Google is catching up to reflect that. Its mapping products are used by millions of people around the world, and a new announcement from the company makes it clear that they can now use them even more fully and to a greater extent. As we will see, the news is quite striking.

Travel back in time with Google Earth. If you want to see what your area was like decades ago, you can access this information now. It is possible to enable a view of the geographic evolution of any area in Google Earth. The option called Timelapse can be accessed from the “Layers” option in the web or mobile app under the “Timelapse” section. The “History view” option was previously available in the desktop version of Google Earth Pro, but is now available to all users.

Until 80 years ago. This information from the past sometimes goes back 80 years. This allows you to check, for example, how each type of building was built or how the terrain has changed over the years. For example, it is possible to view a 1938 black and white photo of San Francisco taken by pilots at Oakland Airport and compare it with current images.

Street View in almost 80 countries. Another key component of Google’s mapping solutions is Street View, which allows us to view the world as if we were visiting it in first person, thanks to Google Photos. In total, there are 280,000 million images covering around 80 countries, some of which are currently being updated and some of which are completely new. Bosnia, Namibia and Paraguay are some of the places we can explore next. Others have been updated and use a new, more compact camera that will allow Street View to be available in more countries in the future.

Refined satellite imagery. Satellite images have also been improved and enhanced thanks to the unique cloud removal technology in which artificial intelligence plays an important role. With this option, it is possible to show more details of these satellite images without having to remove other elements from the map, such as ice or snow, for example. This allows us to have a more precise view of the Earth, as Google points out.

In Xataka | For years, Google Maps has been recording the places we move to. Now, more than ever, this data will be ours