Do you know that you can see what your area was like at least a decade ago? Google Maps lets you travel back in time.
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Google Maps and especially Street View was a revolutionary innovation. The possibility of virtual navigation that they have, that we could not have imagined a few years ago. Apart from a very well developed idea, there are also some interesting features offered by Google Maps.
A not-so-familiar option in Google Maps Street View is that it allows users to travel back in time and see what the place looked like in the past. Since the Strret View program is a little over a decade old, looking back can no longer exceed this time.
The ability to look back is used by users to see how a place has evolved over the years. Google has collected historical data, dating back to 2007, so you can view images up to 15 years old. Let's see how.
Step 1: Open Google Maps on your computer (google.gr/maps) and in the search bar, type in the location of your choice.
Step 2: Click on the Street View thumbnail in the bottom right corner of your screen (the one with the little man) and then click on the blue line at a point on the street you are interested in to access the Street View feature. Alternatively, you can left-click on the little man and while holding down the left mouse button, move him to the point on the street you want.
Step 3. You will enter Street View and in the top left corner you will see the date of the image you are currently viewing. There will also be a clock icon with a drop-down option. Click on the down arrow and a timeline will appear.
Step 4. You will see a time slider that you can move to see images of the same location at different times. If you want to see the older photo in full size, simply click on the specific thumbnail.
As you can see in the image of Omonia below, the initial time mark is July 2019 and we can see what the area was like from this point of view in May 2009, July 2009, May 2011, July 2011 , in August 2014 and March 2019.
It really helps to observe the evolution if you drag the time slider from the beginning to the end. If you want to return to the image here, drag the slider to its right-hand corner.
An important thing to note here is that this feature does not exist in every location and in every street, as many insignificant sites do not have historical data. So if there is no data of the place of your choice, you simply will not see the menu arrow next to the clock.
It has been found that the amount of data available to you is a function of the mobility of the road. Google Street View has a huge database that is constantly expanding, but this means that the Street View car taking the footage will pass through every alley and street twice. Also, the chronology feature does not apply to 360-degree photos of individuals.
Another important thing to note here is that this feature does not exist on your smartphone.
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