How to use Google Maps' “time machine” feature to find old memories

(Dan Tri) - Google has just added a feature that allows viewing street images according to certain time points. Many users in Vietnam have used this feature to find their old memories.

Vietnamese users use the “time machine” feature on Google Maps to find lost relatives.

Google Street View is a service integrated into Google Maps, in which the search giant uses a complex camera system mounted on its cars.

These cars will drive around and take pictures of the surrounding landscape. The images will then be stitched together to create a seamless streetscape system, allowing users to tour different cities around the world as if they were driving down the street.

In April, Google added a new feature to Street View that allows users to view streets in historical time frames. This will help users see and compare the differences of the same location over time.

This feature was initially limited to users in some countries, but has recently been officially available in Vietnam.

Many netizens have met their deceased relatives through a new feature on Google Maps (Screenshot).

As soon as the new feature was available in Vietnam, many users used it to review images of their homes or familiar places in the past. Among them, many users even met deceased people in images accidentally captured by Google Street View.

"Thanks to Google Maps, I met my father again and saw my mother's hardships after he passed away to raise two children. Honestly, since my father passed away, I have not cried once, but now looking back at that thin back, tears just keep falling. It's been 7 years already...", a user shared a photo of his father taken by Google Street View on social media.

“Thanks to Google Maps, who would have thought that one day I would meet my mother again through an image on Google Maps. This is truly a time machine that helps me go back to the past,” another Facebook user shared an image of his deceased mother appearing on Google Street View.

Instructions for using the “time machine” feature on Google Street View

For computer users

To review old images of familiar places, access the Google Maps website on your computer at https://www.google.com/maps , type the address you want to view in the search box.

On the website interface that appears, click on the “Street View” icon in the lower right corner.

The street view will now be displayed on the Google Maps website interface.

At the street view interface, select “View another day” and select one of the time points in the list that appears below to view street images captured by Google Street View at that time.

For smartphone users

To use the "time machine" feature on smartphones, users access the Google Maps application on smartphones, enter the location they want to see street images of into the search box.

In the search results that appear, click on the street view icon in the lower left corner. Next, click the “X” to delete the Google Maps menu below.

At this point, the street view menu by timestamp will appear. Select “View another day”, then select one of the timestamps from the menu that appears to see the street view at that time.

Note

Not all locations have street view imagery available on Google Maps, nor do all locations have historical street view imagery saved over time.

As a result, you may not be able to use the street view feature if the location has not been photographed by Google Street View or if old photographs have not been archived.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/cach-su-dung-tinh-nang-co-may-thoi-gian-cua-google-maps-de-tim-ky-uc-xua-20250702160905252.htm