Google Street View was first offered in Malaysia in 2013 and so far more than 90% of public roads in the country have been successfully mapped. Right from the beginning of its introduction, Street View has been very useful for trip planning. For example, I will go to Street View to see parking locations and see what shops I have never visited look like before driving.
In conjunction with Google Earth's 20th anniversary yesterday, Google activated the feature of accessing old Street View views directly from within the application. Previously, only the latest Street View images could be viewed by users. Through this feature, users can go back in time and see changes in the surrounding area.
To access this feature, go to Google Earth and then select to view the street using Street View mode. You will be able to see the "See more dates" menu in the upper right corner of the screen. The old view options will be listed. The number of old views that can be viewed depends on the location. In my residential area, for example, only one old view can be accessed but in the PETRONAS Twin Towers, 7 old views can be selected.
There have been several recent viral incidents in Indonesia where old Street View images were used to show how a shack selling satay sticks had become dilapidated after the elderly couple who lived there passed away. For those nostalgic, Google Earth can now be used as a portal to the past.