Go to Google Earth on the web or launch the mobile app on your iPhone or Android phone. Before you can look up an address to see historical imagery of that place, make sure you're looking at satellite data.

• Web: Go to the Google Earth website in your browser. If you see a traditional map view, click the Layers panel (bottom left), expand Map Style, and select Satellite. Once you're looking at satellite data, use the search bar at the top of Google Earth to enter an address you'd like to look up. 
• Mobile:Open the Google Earth app on your phone (download it from the App Store or Google Play, if you haven't already). To look at satellite data, tap the three-line menu icon () in the top-left, choose Map Style, and switch to Satellite. Then use the search bar at the top to enter an address.

Locating an address works similarly across platforms. Just enter a broad place name -- like a city -- or a specific street address ("123 Main Street, Anywhere, US") into the search bar. Once you hit Enter (desktop) or tap Search (mobile), Google Earth will jump straight to the location and give you a close-up view with the most recent imagery data available. That could be 2025, or it could be older. 

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You need to enable historical imagery in order to scroll a timeline and go back in time for locations.

It's time to access the timeline slider. This is as simple as toggling on the "historical imagery" layer.

• Web: In the top toolbar, click the Earth icon (labeled "Historical imagery"), or above the toolbar, you can go to View > Historical Imagery. A transparent blue timeline slider will appear in the upper-left corner.
• Mobile:Tap the layers icon (stacked squares), select Historical Imagery, then tap Apply. A card with the timeline slider will show up at the bottom of your screen.

When historical imagery is enabled, you can scroll through time by months and years for nearly any place on Earth. Just use the timeline slider that appears to select a point in time. 

On both desktop and mobile, drag the handle along the timeline slider to view different dates. In my experience, urban areas tend to have more historical imagery available, while rural areas, like where I grew up, often have large data gaps. Just search and start scrolling the timeline slider to see what's available. 

In Malone, NY, for instance -- a small upstate town of fewer than 50,000 people -- I saw timeline dots for every year in the present-day, a few dots in the early 2000s, one in the 1990s, and a final one in 1985. In Syracuse, NY, however -- a much larger, more populous city -- dozens more dots appeared on the slider.

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In the timeline slider, large dots indicate yearly snapshots, and smaller dots mark monthly updates. Grayed-out dots are for dates that were once available but aren't currently accessible at your zoom level.

The labels below the dots show the approximate dates for image captures. On desktop, you might see the exact day (e.g., "August 15, 1995"). On mobile, tap a year in the timeline to see the capture's full date.

Google Earth sometimes disables 3D buildings and terrain when you enable historical imagery to "improve performance," according to Google. So, if your view looks flat, that's why.  

When 3D is available and you're viewing it, Google Earth will show a 2D button so you can switch to that mode instead. I've noticed 3D is often disabled for older imagery -- like, anything from before the 1990s. The oldest 3D view I could access was 1995; I could see some places in 1985 in 2D, though.

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To toggle between 2D and 3D historical imagery, just look for the circular button in Google Earth that's labeled 2D or 3D. It should be toward the bottom of your screen on the web or in the app.

Historical Imagery uses satellite and aerial imagery to let you explore places going back as far as 80 years. 

It seems like older historical imagery is lower resolution aerial views, while the newer captures are sharper, more immersive satellite imagery. It's fun to try different locations and scroll back in the timeline to see how far you can go. I've tested past home addresses, major cities, famous landmarks -- lots of places.

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You might see that image stitching and terrain elevation changes in Google Earth produce warping as you look around the map. In those cases, try changing your angle or zoom level to reduce the distortion.