Thanks to the internet, people can travel around the world, and see things thousands of kilometers away, whenever they want, from wherever they are at the moment, instantly.
And with Google Street View, users can literally walk down the streets, cross the roads, enter buildings and visit landmarks as if they're there in person.
Street View is a technology that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world.
As of 2022, almost all of the U.S., Europe and Australia are officially covered, whereas Russia and many parts of Asia are partially covered. China has been covered, but unofficially.
While Street View is indeed one of Google's most popular products, the company plans to shut it down.
Street View was launched in 2007, initially to only a few cities in the U.S.. It didn't take long until Google expanded it to other areas, as well as rural places worldwide.
To make this happen, Google deploys specially-developed cameras that are mounted onto cars.
In some other areas, Google mounts the cameras onto tricycles, boats, camels, snowmobiles, underwater apparatus, and even on backpacks.
While the Street View remains the most popular way for users to see the streets in first-person perspective, Google is adding the Street View app to its growing product graveyard.
Google spun of Street View into its own app back in 2015.
Available for both Android and iOS, the app allows users to upload their own spherical photos from their phone or from spherical cameras. In 2021, Google also introduced Photo Paths, which allows users to contribute a series of 2D photos for roads and locations that haven't been documented by the official Street View.
Google wants to decommission its Street View app, in favor of Google Maps and Google Earth, which both have access to Street View data.
According to Google, the company is ending its support on March 21st, 2023.
Without the dedicated app, Google is making Street View the key of Google Maps feature.
Through Google Maps, users can still access all of the Street View app's features.
With Google Maps, users can still explore all the places the tech giant had documented with its cameras. Users can also keep adding Photo Spheres within Maps and publishing 360-degree videos using Street View Studio.
But at least initially, users cannot add Photo Paths anymore after Google completely shuts down the dedicated Street View app.
Nonetheless, previously submitted Photo Path images shall remain viewable within Google Maps.