Do no do this, it will require more info to Google and make your house stick out like a sore thumb.
this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2026
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Privacy
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What if they update the photos every 6 months or so? Would the photo then be unblurred and you gaave google your address for nothing? Or do they blur 3D coordinates?
Feeding Google more data is always a good idea...
So now they know where you live....
😅. Okay, story time:
When StreetView was introduced this dominated public debate in Germany for weeks. It was all the rage, "how dare they to photograph everything?"
One official even suggested "it's awesome, police can now patrol the streets from an office chair", because that is how much of a backwater country Germany is digitally.
Anyway, people saw immediately all the crime which all the criminal criminals would do with this tool (which tells you something about the state of mind of the "righteous folks"). Anyway, half the country was blurred, because everybody knew about it. And it is the reason, why StreetView is so patchy in Germany (or at least was for the longest time, didn't check much in recent years) compared to the neighbouring states, 'cause Google pretty much said "Fuck these fucking Germans with their fucking shit".
Apple came around some years later with their version, nobody cared anymore 😅
Im happy a lot of people care about privacy here in Germany. Thanks to that, we are few more steps away from the dystopian shitholes many other societies formed into.
The two counter arguments to this are:
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You are giving more personal data to google to prove you live at that address.
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A blurred house on street view makes you stand out and can make burglars think you are some rich guy with valuable stuff in their house.
Yeah this is exactly like the DNR (Do Not Track Request) built into browsers. It was off by default. Turning it on was only done by privacy focused individuals. But it made you significantly more trackable because almost nobody turns it on, your browser becomes a lot more unique.
Thankfully browsers stopped supporting it. But this is the same thing. Very few people will use it, so that it'll make you stand out instead of helping you.
Yeah, I was about to say, I'm not falling for this "privacy" service lol. Nice try, Google.
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Google maps has a picture of my house from about 10 years before i moved in and it looks exactly like all the other houses around me...
...but i should give google personal information and utility bills to get it taken down?
Nah.
Right?
Why would I do this? It’s just a door with a number on it.
Yea. I don't really care either. I don't see the point in making the effort. Unless I am missing something.
All it seems like is an easy way for google to link your address to the rest of your data.
You can confirm a person's residence by the cars in front of their house. Cross reference objects in the background and if not blurred objects and features in their front yard. Blurring doesn't totally stop this as I've tracked down people's houses from satellite imagery and Facebook pictures to confirm where they lived.
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"Google says the document is deleted after 60 days."
Lol. They absolutely keep all of the data.
"Just give us your name, address, and more, and we'll stop violating your privacy (on the surface). Training AI? Well, obviously. Selling to data brokers? I mean, why wouldn't we? We'll delete the document after we've stored all the details in our database, of course."
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The house we moved to last year had been blurred by the previous owners. It's permanent, so we don't get a choice about it.
Tbh this is the only house I've ever looked up that was blurred.
I get why, but it's also inconvenient. So many of us (in my area, anyway) look up the house on Streetview when going to an unfamiliar address, to help orient ourselves.
It's not something I lose sleep over. But given the option, in a neighbourhood with no other blurred houses, in a low-crime, lost surveillance area, I don't think I would have chosen to blur the house.
Have you thought about installing a giant blur filter in front of your property so it matches the image? Or maybe a good artist can give it a faux blur with some paint and other effects?
Everyone does know that the front of your house is visible from the street, right?
Yes, but with google maps it's visible from anywhere. And some folks might prefer that it not be 🤷🏻♂️
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Tbh the outside of my home is publicly viewable anyway. I can't think of why I'd care much.
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Damn, they'll have to go all the way to zillow if they wanna case your place, huh?
"permanant"
Brought to you by the same companies that "accidentally" re-add you to their spam lists.
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Lol as i am going to send google extra information to get a bit more privacy back. Thata stupid
Being the only blurred thing in the area seems a little conspicuous though
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This should be opt-in, not opt out. IDGAF if it is public information that is perfectly viewable from the street, it shouldn't be on the internet without my consent. There are plenty of perfectly good reasons to blur your house aside from the worry of petty thieves. One, your privacy should be treated with respect. Streisand Effect doesn't really apply here because no one gives a shit if your house is blurred. No one cares as streetview passers by. Talk to your neighbors and then the whole street is blurred like my old street.
This does not obviate the need for action at the legislative level. Google has used the streetview cars to collect plates and radio signals including WiFi information, who knows what else. They have so many databases of information on each of us to sell to adverts and to give freely to police.
This opt out is a positive, likely carved out by litigation, in a very very negative space for privacy rights.
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This does nothing but make your house more obvious. It's better to blend in than to stick out.
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This is such a backwards-ass way to do things. I built my house using extra large bricks so it would be pixelated to begin with
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