You've probably seen the Google car with a mounted camera, snapping footage for the Street View mode. It's amazing that we can use a computer or phone to see places we've never visited.
But if privacy is important to you, knowing that Joe Bloggs in Sydney, Australia, can check what sort of car you have parked on your drive, or the color of your curtains, might be disconcerting.
Therefore, you might be thinking about blurring your house on the Google Maps Street View feature. It's simple enough to do – but should you?
Why Does Google Maps Blur Houses?
Browsing through Google Maps in Street View, you can see all sorts of sights, from unusual animals to the same person photographed repeatedly. Some people even make the effort to prank the Google Maps Car, hoping to appear in Street View perhaps dressed in weird attire.
While zooming through the streets on Google Maps, you will have noticed that faces are blurred out. This practice protects privacy. So, why would a house be blurred on Google Maps? Why does Google blur houses?
The reason is that some people wish to retain their privacy. Unsolicited photos of your home can give quite a bit away, from door color and window décor to your daily habits.
Why Blurring Your House on Google Maps Can Help Privacy
With a blurred house on Google Maps’ Street View feature, strangers sneak a look at your property.
This is quite a useful option, as it limits what potential intruders, thieves, or con artists can learn about you. Street View already gives strangers the opportunity to cross-reference a written address (basically, just a zip code) with a property photographed as recently as the past two years.
There is potential for considerable information to be leaked by Street View, from changes to your property and vehicle betraying prosperity to learning where delivery drivers place parcels.
Online stalkers can use Google Maps to learn more about their targets. And people on Google Maps have even been spotted conducting an illicit affair. If this happened to you, you could be identified and embarrassed publicly – or even forced into paying hush money.
In other cases, the new homes of people escaping abusive ex-partners have been discovered using Street View.
Sadly, these are just a few of the ways Google Maps can be misused.
All in all, obscuring your home on Google Maps makes sense from a security and privacy viewpoint.
How to Blur Your House on Google Maps
Now you know why some houses are blurred on Google Maps, you might be thinking that it is something you want to try. Can you blur you house on Google Maps? Yes, but it’s not something you should attempt without first giving it some thought.
It is important to understand that one does not simply blur a house on Google Maps. This is a permanent change that cannot be undone.
To blur your house on Google Maps Street View:
- Open maps.google.com
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Navigate to your home (or save time and simply enter your address on Instant Street View)
- On Google Maps, drag the Street View icon to the blue line on the road beside your house
- Focus the view on your property
- In the bottom right corner, click Report a problem
- Here, check the address is correct (if not, go back and retry)
- Next, adjust the image preview to focus on your home
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Under Why are you reporting this image use the Request blurring tool
- To blur the house, select My home
- You are required to provide additional information to support blurring, up to 1500 characters, so cite privacy reasons here
- With the reason provided, enter your Email address in the required field
- Complete the captcha validation then Submit
Shortly after, you'll receive a message like this:
Hi,
Thank you for reporting quality issues with a Street View image. We're constantly working on improving our imagery, and we're excited to share that every day we are driving (and re-driving!) in more locations all over the world.
Because of the volume of these requests we may not follow up with you directly, but we appreciate your help in identifying this problem.
Sincerely,
The Google Maps Team
If successful, blurring of the property should be completed in a couple of days.
Note that you can use the same tool to blur faces, number plates, and even entire vehicles. In most cases, these are obscured automatically before images are uploaded to Street View, but this doesn't always happen.
Can a Request to Blur Your House on Google Maps Be Refused?
Occasionally, Google will refuse Street View blurring requests. While unusual, it happens, typically for the following reasons:
- You live in an apartment or hotel
- Your property is notable (such as a converted landmark)
While a complaints process exists, this can be time-consuming and ultimately fruitless.
Why You Might Not Want to Blur Out Your House on Google Maps
As useful as this is, blurring your home on Google Maps might not be the smartest idea.
To start with, if you plan to sell your property, having it blurred on Street View puts you at a disadvantage of finding a buyer. Furthermore, the new owner may wish to see their home on Google Maps, but there is no facility to enable this. And there is no guarantee that future circuits by the Google Maps car will know that the property has changed ownership. Oh, and blurring can be abused in ill-considered "pranks."
Then you need to consider the alternatives to Google Maps. Bing, Yandex, and Apple Maps might all have photos of your property. While you might be able to petition these companies to obfuscate your property, this might take far more time.
However, blurring can also attract questions: "Why is this home blurred? What are they hiding?" In many cases, it could be preferable for your home to blend in to all the others, rather than attract undue attention.
In terms of protecting privacy, other sites may have information about the house. A recent purchase, for example, will stay listed with a real estate website for some time. Certainly, long enough for details and photos of the property to be uncovered.
Why Is My House Blurred on Google Maps?
Checked your own home on Google Maps, switched into Street View, and noticed that the house is blurred out?
If this has happened, it could be for several reasons:
- The previous occupant of the property requested blurring
- Your landlord decided to blur the house
- A neighbor has blurred their property, and it has been done inaccurately (either by the neighbor or Google
- Someone played an ill-considered prank
Whatever the reason, remember: blurring on Google Street View is currently irreversible.
Also, note that you must confirm that you own the house. Do not use these steps explaining how to blur a house on Google Street View as a prank.
Should Your House Be Blurred Out on Google Maps or Not?
Blurring your property is clearly a useful option to have in Google Maps.
While the tools are there to enable blurring of home and even vehicles, and you now know how to blur your house on Google Street View, there is no mechanism to undo it. So, while no one will be able to see your home on Street View, this privacy precaution could backfire in quite an expensive way when it comes to selling the property.
Ultimately, blurring a house on Google Maps is something that requires quite a bit of thought and consideration.