Finding changes in Google Sheets’ version history is about to get so much easier

Version history in Google Sheets is one of those absolutely critical, sometimes-life-saving features. It’s a powerful tool for recovering lost data, understanding how a spreadsheet has evolved, and seeing who made specific edits. But if you’ve ever tried to hunt for a single cell change in a massive, complex sheet, you know it can be like finding a needle in a haystack; even with the helpful cell highlighting.

Well, that frustrating process is about to get a whole lot easier. In a new update, Google is rolling out a brilliant condensed view for version history that solves this exact problem.

See only what’s changed

The new feature is simple but incredibly effective. Now, when you open the version history for a spreadsheet (File > Version history > See version history), Sheets will by default only show you the rows where a change actually occurred. All the unmodified rows will be automatically hidden from view.

This makes it infinitely faster and easier to pinpoint the exact changes made in a selected version of your document. No more endless scrolling and squinting to find that one highlighted cell in a sea of unchanged data. For anyone who collaborates on spreadsheets, this is a massive quality-of-life improvement.

The full view is still just a click away

If for any reason you want to see the entire sheet and have the changes highlighted in context—the way it used to work—that option isn’t gone. You can simply check the “Show unmodified rows” box at the top of the version history panel to instantly return to the full view. Google does note that some embedded objects, like images, may not display when the new condensed view is active.

This fantastic new condensed view will be on by default and is set to have a full rollout for all users starting on September 23, 2025. It’s a small change that will have a huge, positive impact on a core Google Sheets feature.