Click and drag this slider to move between different date ranges. This places a slider in the top left of the screen. Then, click the clock icon in the top toolbar. To do this, navigate to the area that you want to see historical images for. You must use the desktop version of Google Earth if you want to view historical images. They are also run by a number of private companies, not by Google itself, so getting all these images pieced together takes even more time.

Obviously, it takes time for these aircraft to run those photography update missions. However, if your house is a barely discernible brown blob amidst a landscape of psychedelic blurs, then that's the work of a satellite suspended above the equator. When you zoom in on Google Earth, to the point where you can see your car clearly parked on your driveway, then that's the work of aerial photography. The same goes for no-fly zones and conflict areas. Google might also stop updating a certain area if they discover that the imagery is being used for military intelligence or crime. This is typically due to requests from governments or personal lawsuits. The images of these places may be old, blurry, or entirely blacked out. Some locations are rarely or never updated due to security reasons. For example, New York will update regularly with high detail images because Google can fly its aircraft to collect imagery and there will be many third-party companies to provide satellite imagery.

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