We’ve all been there – typing in our address on Google Street View to see if we’ve been caught in the act of mowing the lawn or bringing in the groceries. You may have noticed that faces and license plates are automatically blurred in Google’s 360-degree images, but your house is not. While many of us use Street View innocently to plan our routes or virtually explore famous landmarks, criminals can take advantage of the free service for their own purposes.
According to a tweet from Google Maps, it’s always “wyd” and never “let’s choose a random spot on the map to travel to and save a list of places to experience together.” Security experts at ADT emphasize the importance of asking Google to blur your home to prevent potential thieves from using Street View to scope out your property.
To request that Google blurs your home, follow these steps from Google Maps Help:
1. Open Google Maps
2. Find and open the 360 photo that violates image acceptance and privacy policies
3. Click “report a problem” in the bottom right
4. Complete the form
5. Click “Submit”
Google will review your report promptly and may contact you for additional information. Remember, it’s important to protect your privacy and security by taking these precautions.