Street View had its inception in 2001 with the Stanford CityBlock Project, a Google-sponsored Stanford University research project. The project ended in June 2006, and its technology was folded into Street View. The technology was launched on May 25, 2007, in the United States.

In 2017 Google announced that they were improving the quality of the street view panoramic photo by revamping its mapping vehicles with all-new high-resolution camera systems and artificial intelligence. The new Google cars have been seen in various American cities since March 2017, as well as in Japan since August. The first images taken with the new generation of cameras were available online on September 13. In October 2017, the makers of the Insta360 Pro announced the certification of the first “Street View auto ready” camera for US$3,500; it uses six lenses for a 360° view and comes with Stitcher software. In addition to purchase, the camera rig is also available to qualified entities as part of the Google loaner program, with 50 cameras available to loan.