People baffled by what Google Maps looked like on its launch day in 2005

Google Maps feels like an everyday luxury taken for granted nowadays, but back in 2005, it was almost unrecognizable.

Even by loading up your tunes in the car, it’s likely you come across Google Maps at least once a week, if not on a daily basis.

But it wasn’t always the stellar software that we know now.

In fact, images of its launch day show just how far it’s come, as it chopped off the majority of the globe.

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Images of Google Maps in 2005 leaves people baffled

Google Maps in 2025 is complete with real-time traffic updates and satelite views over the most remote areas in the world, uncovering every inch of our planet.

But back in 2005, it was very basic. So much so that it sliced off half the map and only featured a handful of countries like the US, UK, and Canada.

Taking to Reddit, one user posted a picture of the software on its opening day, showing the difference.

Its safe to say many commenters were shocked.

“That’s weird-looking world tour map… I mean, where is France, Australia, or Japan?” one person quipped.

But most people saw the funny sude of this English-speaking map.

“It’s impressive how many people and continents emerged from the vast ocean in only two decades,” a second user joked.

A third added: “We’re going to reverse Columbus and discover the old world. Let’s go find some Indian spices.”

How far we’ve come

Others had more fonder memories of the 2005 Google Maps.

“I remember when you could ask for directions from LA to London and Google would tell you turn-by-turn driving directions to New York and then tell you to swim across the Atlantic Ocean to London,” another comment read.

Of course, nowadays, this seems like a barbaric notion.

Not only can it find incredibly remote locations that would have otherwise stayed a mystery, you can even get free tours of the world’s biggest landmarks, such as The White House.

Still, its quite a cool notion of just how far software has advanced, especially now that we could be starting from scratch like this with a GPS map of the moon, soon.

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