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Google Earth Pro desktop is becoming legacy

Google Earth Pro has been one of the most useful entry-level spatial tools for Māori GIS mahi. It is familiar, visual, easy to navigate in 3D and has made KML/KMZ a practical sharing format for years.

Google now describes Google Earth Pro desktop as a legacy application and has announced that new downloads will stop on 25 June 2027. Existing installations can continue to work after that date. Google's development emphasis is on Earth in the browser and mobile apps.

This does not mean Google Earth Pro suddenly stops working on 25 June 2027. It means new workflows should not assume that a future computer will always be able to install it.

Choose by job​

NeedUseful starting point
Free Windows desktop globe for KML/KMZ and local GIS filesArcGIS Earth
Work with local data without making a web upload the first stepArcGIS Earth or QGIS
Quick 3D exploration and Google imageryGoogle Earth in the browser
Historical Google imagery and Street ViewGoogle Earth in the browser
Lightweight browser projects and sharingGoogle Earth in the browser
Repeatable analysis, editing and structured data managementQGIS or ArcGIS Pro
Existing Google Earth Pro workflow that still workskeep using it while useful and plan the transition

A useful pattern is Google Earth web for Google's imagery and exploration, ArcGIS Earth for a simple installed Windows globe, and QGIS/ArcGIS Pro when the work becomes GIS analysis or data management.

What Google has announced​

Google's current information says:

  • Google Earth Pro desktop remains available now
  • new downloads stop on 25 June 2027
  • existing installations can continue after that date
  • Google is directing development toward web and mobile
  • features from desktop continue to move into the web experience

Current sources:

For an iwi, hapū or Māori organisation the practical implication is simply not to make future installation of Google Earth Pro a critical dependency.

ArcGIS Earth as a desktop alternative​

ArcGIS Earth is a free Esri application for viewing and exploring spatial information on a 3D globe. It is deliberately simpler than ArcGIS Pro.

It can work with:

  • KML and KMZ
  • shapefiles
  • GeoJSON
  • CSV/TXT location data
  • GPX tracks
  • local raster imagery including GeoTIFF
  • 3D models and 3D Tiles
  • WMS and WMTS
  • ArcGIS map, image, feature and scene services
  • local/offline data
  • placemarks, lines and polygons
  • 3D measurement, elevation profiles and exploratory visibility tools

An Esri account is not required for basic local-file use. Signing in is useful when organisational ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise content is part of the workflow.

Official information:

Windows limitation​

ArcGIS Earth desktop is currently a Windows application. On Mac or Linux, Google Earth web and QGIS remain the more obvious alternatives depending on the task.

Local files and web projects are different patterns​

ArcGIS Earth can open files directly from a computer or shared drive. That is useful for an internal KMZ for hui, a council shapefile, a GeoTIFF, a GPX track, a GeoJSON extract or a local 3D model.

Google Earth web is strongest where the main value comes from Google's globe, imagery, historical imagery, Street View or lightweight browser collaboration.

For Māori GIS, make the difference visible rather than treating either pattern as automatically better. A browser workflow creates an uploaded/project copy. A local desktop workflow keeps the working file in the local or organisational environment until somebody chooses otherwise.

See Cloud is not one thing and Local and hybrid GIS.

Historical imagery and Street View​

Google Earth web remains particularly useful for examining visible change in:

  • urban development
  • forestry
  • rivers and coastlines
  • roads
  • vegetation
  • public infrastructure

An old image provides visual evidence, not an explanation of what happened to the whenua. It can sit alongside whānau knowledge, historical maps, archival records and other sources.

Continue with Imagery, Historical aerial imagery and Historical research.

Browser projects and sharing​

Google Earth web is useful when several people need to explore a lightweight project through a browser. Public or ordinary project information can be straightforward to use this way.

For other material, the useful technical questions are:

  • What copy is being uploaded?
  • What is this web project for and who will use it?
  • Does it need the full working geometry and attributes?
  • Where does the project copy live and how is it exported later?
  • Who in the team holds the account relationship?
  • Could another team member recover the project if the current person leaves?

These are ordinary system-design questions. The answers come from the kaupapa and organisation, not from Google Earth itself.

See Publishing Māori GIS maps, What belongs in GIS? and Sensitive places.

Moving from Google Earth Pro​

1. Find the files that still matter​

Look for KML/KMZ, My Places folders, image overlays, custom icons, tours and any output still used operationally. Separate useful records from temporary placemarks that no longer serve a purpose.

2. Export important My Places material​

Save useful folders to KML/KMZ while the working desktop installation is still available. Keep a source copy unchanged.

01_source/google-earth-pro/
02_working/kml/
03_outputs/kmz/

3. Test representative files​

On Windows, open a representative set in ArcGIS Earth. Check symbols, labels, pop-ups, network links, overlays and 3D content. Save an edited test to a new KMZ and confirm another person can open it.

Complex legacy KML can behave differently between applications, so test the actual files rather than assuming complete compatibility.

4. Separate the imagery dependency from the file-format dependency​

Some Google Earth Pro workflows were really about Google's imagery rather than KML. Those may move more naturally to Google Earth web. Other workflows were mainly about local KML/KMZ and may fit ArcGIS Earth.

5. Move operational GIS data out of KML where useful​

KML remains excellent for visual exchange. Where a KML layer has become a maintained operational dataset, GeoPackage, a geodatabase or PostGIS can provide a stronger working structure. Generate KML/KMZ as a viewing output when needed.

See GeoPackage and the QGIS practical course.

A practical Māori GIS pattern​

For many small teams:

  1. Keep important source and working data in a maintainable GIS format.
  2. Use ArcGIS Earth where a simple Windows desktop globe and local files are useful.
  3. Use Google Earth web where Google's imagery, historical imagery, Street View or browser collaboration is the main advantage.
  4. Create a shared/public copy with the level of detail needed for that audience rather than automatically uploading the master working dataset.
  5. Keep source notes and provenance when information moves between tools.
  6. Make sure another kaimahi can recover the important project files and accounts.

The goal is not to choose an Esri camp or a Google camp. It is to use the simplest tool chain that supports the kaupapa.

Quick comparison​

CapabilityArcGIS Earth desktopGoogle Earth webGoogle Earth Pro desktop
New desktop workflowsstrong Windows optionbrowserlegacy
Free to useyesyesyes
Local KML/KMZstrongimport/project workflowstrong
Shapefile / GeoJSONyesselected import capabilitylimited compared with GIS tools
Local GeoTIFF/rasteryesnot a normal local-file workflowimage-overlay oriented
WMS/WMTSyesnot the main patternlimited
Offline/local-data workflowsstrongnoyes
Google satellite/3D imagerynoyesyes
Google historical imagerynoyesyes
Historical Street Viewnoweb-focusednot the main future path
ArcGIS Online/Enterprise servicesyesnono
Full GIS analysisnonono

Last reviewed: 26 August 2026

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