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    Photo Timeline uses deprecated Google API to give you a visual look into the web's past

    Photo Timeline uses deprecated Google API to give you a visual look into the web's past

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    David Hirmes has created Photo Timeline, a free tool that creates a chronological photo stream of images utilizing Google's deprecated Image Search API.

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    Photo Timeline search for The Verge
    Photo Timeline search for The Verge

    Last June Google deprecated a large number of its APIs; one of those affected was the Google Image Search API, but per the company's policies it will remain working until 2014. Developer David Hirmes has taken advantage of the policy to create Photo Timeline, a web tool that allows you to create photo collages from Google's massive database of catalogued images. By entering a search term and a specified date range, the tool brings up a collection of pictures tied to the term, ordered by their associated date data. Photo Timeline isn't razor-sharp in its precision, likely due to incorrect information being associated with certain images, but it's nevertheless a great way to get a birds-eye view on the visual history of various names and phrases. We found it worked best with high-profile search terms (the default search is "Madonna"), and whether you're trying to surface some of the odder iPhone concepts that were bandied about in 2006, or just looking for random images associated with a favorite film, it's a great way to explore and discover content — until that API gets shut down for good, that is.