Google Earth Has Been Downloaded 1 Billion Times

Google Earth has been downloaded 1 billion times, Google has revealed. The app is six years old and has evolved in this time to include much more than just the 'Earth.' It has also been used in surprising ways, which Google is showcasing in a new page dedicated to the milestone.

"How large is one billion? One billion hours ago modern humans were living in the Stone Age. One billion minutes ago, the Roman Empire was flourishing," Brian McClendon, VP of Engineering at Google Earth and Maps, put the figure in perspective.

"If you traveled from Earth to the Moon three times, your journey would measure one billion meters," he said.

"Today, we’ve reached our own one billion mark: Google Earth has been downloaded more than one billion times since it was first introduced in 2005," he announced.

"That’s more than one billion downloads of the Google Earth desktop client, mobile apps and the Google Earth plug-in—all enabling you to to explore the world in seconds, from Earth to Mars to the ocean floor," he added.

As Google explains, the milestone is for downloads, meaning that Earth hasn't been downloaded by one million people as some might assume off the bat.

What's more, it counts the desktop client, the mobile apps as well as the Earth plugin for browsers, all of which could have been installed by the same users.

Still, it's an important milestone one that showcases just how many people have access to information that was not available to anyone just a few years ago.

Google Earth provides detailed satellite imagery, something people paid big money for less than a decade ago. It also has terrain data for the entire planet.

But it goes beyond, you can visit the Moon, Mars or check out the stars in the skies with the app. All of it for free.

But that's only what regular people use it for, many have used Google to discover archaeological sites, or to recreate their cities in 3D. You can check out some of the most outstanding stories on Google's new "One World. Many Stories" website.

Google Earth for Windows is available for download here.
Google Earth for Mac is available for download here.
Google Earth for Linux is available for download here.