Google has partnered with The Internet Archive to improve how users access historical versions of websites.
This collaboration integrates The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine directly into Google Search, enabling users to view archived versions of webpages directly from search results.
How It Works
To access archived versions, perform a Google search as usual:
- Click the three dots next to each search result.
- Select “About this Result,” then choose “More About This Page” to find a link to the Wayback Machine.
- This link will direct you to archived versions of the webpage, showing how it appeared at various points in time.
Preservation Commitment
The Internet Archive’s mission is “Universal Access to All Knowledge.” The Wayback Machine, which stores billions of archived pages, preserves digital history for future generations.
This partnership with Google strengthens web archiving by making it easier to access and explore past content. Archived links may be inaccessible if the rights holder has chosen to opt out or if the page breaches content guidelines.
Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine, stated that this new feature makes historical web content “just a click away” from Google search results, enriching users’ understanding of the web’s history.
Notably, this new feature follows Google’s removal of cached pages from search results earlier in 2024.
Availability
The feature begins rolling out today, adding historical context to Google Search results and enhancing access to archived content.
Speaking about the integration, Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine, explains:
The web is getting older, and countless URLs are turning into digital ghosts. Businesses close down, governments change, disasters occur, and content management systems update—each wiping away parts of online history. Sometimes, creators themselves delete content or succumb to political pressure.
This is where the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine steps in: for over 25 years, it has been capturing snapshots of the public web. This digital archive turns our “now-only” browsing into an exploration of internet history.
And now, it’s just a click away from Google search results, offering access to a more complete, richer web—one that preserves what others have forgotten.