Featured Image Credit: Google
Topics: Google, Google Maps, Technology
Ella Scott
For some people, privacy really is paramount - and one unsuspecting way you can exercise your anonymity like some famous faces is by blurring your home out on Google Maps.
The Google Maps Street View car has captured some strange moments, like a terrifying team of Billy the Puppets from Saw on the streets of St Petersburg and a triangle shaped tower at Area 51.
While Google automatically blurs people's faces, car number plates and images of nudity, you can also request the business to blur out your home on Maps.
This tactic is often employed by public figures and celebrities alike, meaning you can’t peek through their curtains.
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But it isn’t just the rich and famous who can request Google Maps to blur out their home. If you want to get in on the action, it’s actually extremely easy to do.
All you need to do is head to the Maps app and enter your home address.
Once you've landed outside your property on the software, you can click 'report a problem'. The app will then ask you why you are reporting the image.
You can then select 'request blurring' and select 'my home'.
You'll then want to drag the box over your entire property (including any outside buildings or gardens) to make sure it blurs everything.
To confirm the changes, all you need to do is enter your email dress and boom - your home is no longer easily viewable.
Speaking about the decision to blur out some people’s properties, the business explained: “Google takes a number of steps to protect the privacy of individuals when Street View imagery is published to Google Maps.
“We have developed cutting-edge face and licence plate blurring technology that is designed to blur identifiable faces and licence plates within Google-contributed imagery in Street View.
“If you see that your face or licence plate requires additional blurring, or if you would like us to blur your entire house, car or body, submit a request using the ‘Report a problem’ tool.”
According to Ryan Railsback, an officer in the Riverside Police Department in Southern California, said blurring your house on Google Maps can prevent would-be thieves from scoping out if your house is likely to contain valuables, plus any security measures you have in place.
He told ABC News: "The crooks are looking for new and innovative ways to victimize people. It's good for the public to be aware of that and counter what the criminals are already doing."
However, Christopher Herrmann, a professor of law and police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, warned that in some circumstances it could have the opposite effect, leading burglars to wonder what you have to hide if you're the only house on a street who has blurred their property.
He said: "It may be more of a red flag."
Some people are only just realizing you can take your home off Street View, and have taken to Reddit to have their say.
“Not everybody likes to see you doing nice in life we live in a world of people wanting 5 finger discounts,” one typed. “If thieves have a option to look at a house without even being there I 100% don’t want to be a part of that.”
A second commented that their home was blurred after ‘a number of break-ins and incidents around the farm’.
So if you ever spot the Google Maps camera cruising down your road while you're out in your PJs, at least you know you can blur yourself out ASAP.