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Google is killing the standalone Street View

But Street View will live on in the Google Maps app.

google street view app screenshots on purple knowtechie background
Image: KnowTechie

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After seven years, Google has decided to kill the standalone Street View app since most users head to Google Maps to check out the feature.

The days of the standalone Street View app are numbered, as discovered by 9to5Google in a previously unreleased notice found in the code of the latest Street View updates.

Madison Gouveia, a spokesperson for Google, later confirmed the shutdown to The Verge. The app will lose all support on March 31, 2023. And it’s going away from app stores in the next few weeks.

google maps street view in san francisco
Image: KnowTechie

Google started Street View as a web app back in 2007. The company eventually added it to the Google Maps mobile app, and launched the standalone Street View app for Android and iOS years later, in 2015.

The standalone app allowed users to upload spherical pictures from their phones or cameras for spots that Google’s Street View car had yet to reach with a feature called Photo Spheres.

Google also added a new feature called Photo Paths last year. Photo Paths let you upload normal, 2D pictures that it would compile for Street View blind spots.

street view orange sculpture wisconsin avenue
Image: KnowTechie

Street View will live on as a feature in Google Maps for mobile and web. Plus, Google added Photo Spheres to the maps app. So you’ll still be able to upload 360-degree images.

But Photo Paths will be gone for good when the Street View app dies on March 31. You’ll still be able to see any uploaded Photo Path photos, but you won’t be able to add any more.

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Staff writer at KnowTechie. Alex has two years of experience covering all things technology, from video games to electric cars. He's a gamer at heart, with a passion for first-person shooters and expansive RPGs. Shoot him an email at alex@knowtechie.com

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