Google Street View is not exactly a new tool but it has lately been garnering a lot of attention thanks to a recent TikTok trend. Users of the platform have been sharing old photos of locations they are connected to, such as their childhood homes, streets where they grew up, and other places that have meaning for them with the help of Street View.

This is thanks to the 'Historical view' feature of the tool, which lets users see how a place looked a few years back. Whether you want to join in the fun, or simply want to travel back in time and visit a place from your memories, here is how you can do so.

On the web

  1. Open Google Maps on your computer and search for an address you want to view.
  1. Next, click on the 'Pegman' icon on the bottom right of your screen and drag it to any location on the map to open Street View.
  1. Once Street View opens, you can view how the location appears in real life and can even move up and down the street. On the top left, you can see when the photo was taken as well as a 'See more dates' option. Click on it.
  1. Clicking on 'See more dates' will show you a list of dates along with photos from that date at the bottom in the form of a timeline.
  1. You can now click on a photo from any previous date and see how the place looked back then.

On Android and iOS

Using the Historical View feature of Google Street View is very similar to how you use it on the web.

  1. Open the Google Maps app on your phone and search for a location you want to view.
  2. Once the map shows the location you want to view, tap and hold anywhere on the map to add a pin and open it in Street View.
  1. When Street View opens, tap on 'See more dates' at the bottom.
  2. You will again see the photos from previous dates of that place at the bottom like a timeline and you can scroll through them by swiping left and right.
  1. Swipe right to see what the place looked like a few years ago.

Things to know

  • The 'See more dates' option is not available for all locations. For many places, you may only see the date when the latest photo of that place was taken by Google.
  • Even when you are viewing photos of a location from an earlier time, you can still use all regular Street View features, like the 360-degree view and navigation options.
  • You can quickly move from earlier photos to the most recent one using the 'See latest date' option.
  • Google only has photos dating back to 2007, so you won't be able to go back in time further than that using this feature.