After additional acquisitions of a geospatial data visualization company and a real-time traffic analyzer, Google Maps was launched in February 2005.

Google Maps first started as a C++ program designed by two Danish brothers, Lars and Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen, and Noel Gordon and Stephen Ma, at the Sydney-based company Where 2 Technologies, which was founded in early 2003.

The program was initially designed to be separately downloaded by users, but the company later pitched the idea for a purely Web-based product to Google management, changing the method of distribution.

[13] In September 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Google Maps quickly updated its satellite imagery of New Orleans to allow users to view the extent of the flooding in various parts of that city.

The company has stated that "it would update the program during the year to allow users to plan trips which include locks, bridges and towpaths along the 2,000 miles of river paths in the UK.

"[28] In December 2012, the Google Maps application was separately made available in the App Store, after Apple removed it from its default installation of the mobile operating system version iOS 6 in September 2012.

[55] Google Maps provides a route planner,[56] allowing users to find available directions through driving, public transportation, walking, or biking.

[57] Google has partnered globally with over 800 public transportation providers to adopt GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification), making the data available to third parties.

[82] The feature uses predictive modelling and neural radiance fields to scan Street View and aerial images to generate composite 3D imagery of locations, including both exteriors and interiors, and routes, including driving, walking or cycling, as well as generate synchronous information and forecasts up to a month ahead from historical and environmental data about both such as weather, traffic and busyness.

Immersive View has been available in the following locations:[citation needed] Google added icons of city attractions, in a similar style to Apple Maps, on October 3, 2019.

[85] In July 2010, 45° imagery was made available in Google Maps in select cities in South Africa, the United States, Germany and Italy.

[87] Previously called Search with Live View, Lens In Maps identifies shops, restaurants, transit stations and other street features with a phone's camera and places relevant information and a category pin on top, like closing/opening times, current busyness, pricing and reviews using AI and augmented reality.

It was expanded to 50 new cities in October 2023 in its biggest expansion yet, after initially being released in late 2022 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, London, and Paris.

Google Ditu's street map coverage of Taiwan no longer omits major state organs, such as the Presidential Palace, the five Yuans, and the Supreme Court.

Google has said it created its maps from third-party data, public sources, satellites, and users, but many names used have not been connected to any official record.

One leaked document, dating to 2008, stated that "[i]t effectively means that anyone using Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system.

[157][158][159] In August 2023, a woman driving from Alice Springs to the Harts Range Racecourse was stranded in the Central Australian desert for a night after following directions provided by Google Maps.

[160] In February 2024, two German tourists were stranded for a week after Google Maps directed them to follow a dirt track through Oyala Thumotang National Park and their vehicle became trapped in mud.

"[162] In June 2019, Google Maps provided nearly 100 Colorado drivers an alternative route that led to a dirt road after a crash occurred on Peña Boulevard.

[169][170] Also in November 2023, Google apologized after users were directed through desert roads after parts of Interstate 15 were closed due to a dust storm.

"[171] In 2020, a teenage motorist was found frozen to death while his passenger was still alive but suffered from severe frostbite after using Google Maps, which had led them to a shorter but abandoned section of the R504 Kolyma Highway, where their Toyota Chaser became disabled.

[211] The Google Maps apps for iOS and Android have many of the same features, including turn-by-turn navigation, street view, and public transit information.

[219][220] At the end of 2015 Google Maps announced its new offline functionality,[221] but with various limitations – downloaded area cannot exceed 120,000 square kilometers[222][223] and require a considerable amount of storage space.

[226][227] In August 2017, Google Maps for Android was updated with new functionality to actively help the user in finding parking lots and garages close to a destination.

[228] In December 2017, Google added a new two-wheeler mode to its Android app, designed for users in India, allowing for more accessibility in traffic conditions.

[234] USA Today welcomed the application back to iOS, saying: "The reemergence in the middle of the night of a Google Maps app for the iPhone is like the return of an old friend.

Annika Richterich explains that the "satellite pictures in Senghor on the Rocks illustrate the main character's travel through the West-African state of Senegal".

Emilio Vavarella's The Google Trilogy includes glitchy images and unintended portraits of the drivers of the Street View cars.

[249] The Japanese band group inou used Google Street View backgrounds to make a music video for their song EYE.

[250] The Canadian band Arcade Fire made a customized music video that used Street View to show the viewer their own childhood home.