Technologies

This Google Maps Feature Takes Your Street Back in Time

Street View lets you take a look at your home and other places, as far back as 2007.

Google’s fleet of Street View vehicles have been zooming around cities and neighborhoods for over 15 years now, snapping photos of restaurants, apartment buildings and pretty much everything else you can see from the street. Over that time, as technology has advanced, Google has retraced its steps, capturing higher quality images to enhance Google Maps.

In fact, if you go into Google Maps right now and use the Street View feature on your home, for example, you should see a pretty recent image, probably from the last year or so. However, that’s not the only image that exists of where you live. Google Maps stores every image taken of that location, dating back to 2007 — you just need to know how to find them.

Interested in seeing what your home looked like over a decade ago? We’ll show you how to use Google Map’s time-travel feature on your phone and desktop.

While you’re here, you should also check out how to use Google Maps even when you don’t have internet and why you may want to blur your home from Google Maps.

How to see older Street View images on your phone

In the Google Maps app on iOS or Android, enter an address or place a marker down on a location for which you want to see photos.

Next, tap the Street View preview that appears right above the information window, which will take you into full-screen Street View mode. Then just tap the large map.

You should now see a blue See more dates option appear in the white window at the bottom of Street View. If you tap it, you’ll see a carousel of images, each with a month and year describing when the photo was taken by Google. Swipe left and right to go through the various Street View images.

The renamed Crypto Arena in 2022 (middle) and then Staples Center in 2008.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

The earlier the date, the lower the quality of the image you might see, but you should be able to see options as far back as 2007, with new images every few years or so. If you live in a major city, expect more Street View options.

Check out vintage Street View images on your computer

You can access the same Street View images from the past on your computer as well.

In the web browser of your choice, go to the Google Maps website and either enter an address or choose a point on the map. Once you have a location, click the photo that appears right above the address on the left side of Google Maps. If it’s a Street View image, you’ll be taken to Street View, but if it’s not, find and click Street View & 360° and the image that appears underneath.

In Street View mode, you should see a gray transparent window on the top-left corner of the map. Click the See more dates option and a carousel of Street View images, from the last 15 years or so, will appear at the bottom. Use your mouse to click and drag through the various vintage photos.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2008.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Done? Check out three new Google Maps features you’ll definitely want to use and this Google Maps cheat sheet filled with all the most useful tricks.

Technologies

Tinder Users Must Start Logging In With Their Faces, Starting Nationwide

The social app now has new US requirements including face identification to help quell longstanding problems with catfishing and more.

US Tinder users will find a new feature when they open up the dating app starting Wednesday: A mandatory Face Check on their phones will be required before they can log into their profiles.

The Face Check step will begin with a new request to record a video of your face, a more casual version of setting up Apple’s Face ID login. Tinder will then run checks comparing your face data to your current profile pics and automatically create a small face badge for your profile. We already know how it works, because Tinder has already launched the feature in Canada and California before the full US rollout.

The technology, powered by FaceTec, will keep biometric data of the user’s face in encrypted form but discard the scanning video for privacy. Tinder will be able to use the face data to detect duplicate accounts, in an effort to cut down on fake profiles and identity theft.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Tinder’s facial recognition rollout is also made to prevent catfishing, or people pretending to be someone else on Tinder to scam or blackmail them. But that also points to a deeper problem on the rise in dating apps — a growing number of bots, many controlled by AI, are designed to glean personal information or fool users into scammy subscriptions, among other problems.

Tinder’s working against these bots on several fronts, including this Face Check push as well as ID Check, which requires a government-issued ID and other types of photo verification.

The dating app also recently released a feature in June to enable double-dating with your friends, which Tinder reports is especially popular with Gen Z users. If you’re worried about the latest hazards on Tinder, we have guide to safety practices.

A representative for Tinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Oct. 23

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 23.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Like some weather, memories and I.P.A.s
Answer: HAZY

5A clue: Statement that’s self-evidently true
Answer: AXIOM

7A clue: Civic automaker
Answer: HONDA

8A clue: What fear leads to, as Yoda told a young Anakin
Answer: ANGER

9A clue: Foxlike
Answer: SLY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Verbal «lol»
Answer: HAHA

2D clue: Brain signal transmitter
Answer: AXON

3D clue: Hits with a witty comeback
Answer: ZINGS

4D clue: Sing at the top of a mountain, maybe
Answer: YODEL

6D clue: Name of the famous «Queen of Scots»
Answer: MARY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: