I still remember when Google Street View was that pre-installed icon that I wished I could remove from my device but couldn't because it came as part of Google Maps. Now the exploration service is all grown up, living independently, and thanks to the spread of 360 cams and user-generated content as well as the addition of dozens of interesting photosphere collections from real to fictional, has reached 1 billion total installs on the Play Store.

While many of those downloads will have resulted from the app being pre-installed on devices for the longest time, 1 billion is still an impressive milestone to reach. According to AppBrain, it took nearly 4 years for Street View to go from 500M to 1B installs, so the growth has been slow compared to other Google services, but at least it hasn't stagnated.

I only remember to install Street View on a new device when I see an announcement of a cool new collection, like the Batcave and Miniatur Wunderland, but each time I do install it, I am impressed by how it can transport me to different gorgeous places around the world and wish I could contribute more to it or could spend more time enjoying all the amazing hidden spots our planet has to offer. Oh well... back to my computer screen I go. If you have time and you haven't checked Street View in a while, do download it. The latest additions are from Malta.