Blur

October 9, 2024 12:57 PM

I've had images of my house/property blurred on Google Street view. What other maps are there where I can do this?
posted by falsedmitri to Technology (5 answers total)

If you are in the US:

Apple Maps Streetview
Bing Maps
Cyclomedia
posted by Bryant at 3:38 PM on October 9, 2024 [2 favorites]

FYI: When you do this with Google, you also not only blur your house but it freezes in time and erases any archived/older captures of the streetview for your neighbors, the people across the street, basically anyone who might be able to see your house.

My next door neighbor did this, and in doing so wiped out all the previous streetviews of my house too, going back to the first one in 2007 that featured my now-dead Mom in the background. According to Google there's no way to recover those images once they're gone, even on request. And me being able to time-lapse my house isn't more important than my neighbor's privacy, but I wanted you to know that you're not the only one that gets affected by your choice.
posted by ApathyGirl at 5:37 PM on October 9, 2024 [12 favorites]

When I see blurred houses it makes me realize someone important lives there, perhaps a google map equivalent of the Streisand Effect there's a fuzzy blackhole of curiosity. I've identified US Senators, Congresspersons, and founders of international multiconglomerate tech companies where I live because of this. With broad access to land ownership maps (there are lots of apps that make it easy these days, and very helpful if you really want to look into land usage or off-market properties), the effect has sometimes been to actually identify unfamous persons (presumably like yourself) in addition to the famous and infamous.

Its weird, but we really do live in an age of privacy through abundance (like living in a city) rather than privacy through anonymity (living very remote). But I get you. I struggle with my online presence even on Metafilter. One-day I might ask jessamyn if there's a "delete my name" button... though its too late with the way-back machine.

Hi internet archeologist of the future 👋
posted by rubatan at 8:01 PM on October 9, 2024

I hate when people blur houses on streetview - they're changing - and worsening - a public record for everyone else. I wish Google didn't allow it, and I hope you decide not to!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:45 AM on October 10, 2024 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: From Cyclomedia:

Cyclomedia gathers GeoCycloramas (360-degree panoramic images) from public roads, and occasionally private property when acting on behalf of and with legal authority from a customer, such as a county property appraiser or utility. Cyclomedia uses mobile mapping technology to gather these images, providing current and clear views of street level environments readily from the web, with privacy blurring of faces and license plates required in cases when our customers share the imagery with the public.
https://www.cyclomedia.com/us/how-does-cyclomedia-manage-my-privacy

So there's that. Ultimately though, I don't know where I could see imagery from Cyclomedia.
Is it not publicly available?
posted by falsedmitri at 3:01 PM on October 10, 2024