# Question about blurred house on Google Earth street view **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780 "2020-02-11T16:18:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/21 "2020-02-12T18:01:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But what good does it do? In fact you get people curious , and more publicity. As **bob++** puts it- \*“The Streisand Effect” \*. > > So, it doesnt help and likely hurts. Let me just check with Sundar Pichai, see what he has to say about that. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/22 "2020-02-12T18:54:16Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Did they send you a letter or anything to verify the request is valid? It was a few years ago, and I don’t know - I wasn’t involved. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/23 "2020-02-12T19:08:36Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Let me just check with Sundar Pichai, see what he has to say about that. :rolleyes: Maybe you could say what you mean? ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/24 "2020-02-12T19:37:51Z")
My neighbor blurred his garage out. Why? Because the garage door happened to be up at the time the Google car came down the street. In his garage is a rather impressive collection of vintage silver-faced audio amplifiers and receivers from the 1970s and early 80s - nearly 60 of them. They were on view on Google Earth/Maps. Better safe than sorry. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/25 "2020-02-12T19:45:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Maybe you could say what you mean? I did already. Try rereading it, it was simple enough. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/26 "2020-02-13T00:19:32Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I did already. Try rereading it, it was simple enough. _“Let me just check with Sundar Pichai, see what he has to say about that.”_ So, what did he have to say about that? Did you call him? email? Or is this some snark that I am supposed to know who he is, and thus know what he’d say about the subject? Note that his Wiki page does say is the CEO of a company that owns Google, but there’s no quotes from him about Google earth. Do you have a quote from him? If so, why not just post it, instead of snark? You post makes no sense at all. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/27 "2020-02-13T02:08:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _“Let me just check with Sundar Pichai, see what he has to say about that.”_ > > So, what did he have to say about that? Did you call him? email? Or is this some snark that I am supposed to know who he is, and thus know what he’d say about the subject? Note that his Wiki page does say is the CEO of a company that owns Google, but there’s no quotes from him about Google earth. Do you have a quote from him? If so, why not just post it, instead of snark? > > You post makes no sense at all. Are you serious? I feel like I am chatting with someone on the spectrum. If so, I’m sorry. I was being mildly snarky with a joke like I could talk to the CEO of Google about why they do what they do. I thought what I first posted that you questioned was pretty obvious, but apparently not so. So have a good night. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/28 "2020-02-13T02:40:34Z")
Note also that you can’t go down that side road; it’s probably a private community of some sort that doesn’t want to be findable on Google Maps and they just couldn’t afford to put up a gate system. The guy stuck at the corner wanted some measure of privacy so he asked to have his house blurred out. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/29 "2020-02-13T02:43:23Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I really wonder why Google bothers with the blurring. It’s my understanding that if you’re on public land anything you photograph is fair game. Not in all countries, though. In Germany there were so many blur requests that Google basically gave up on that country and, for the most part, Switzerland and Austria too. They say it’d for privacy but then it seems to me if they don’t want me seeing their country on a computer then I don’t feel welcome to visit in person either. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/30 "2020-02-13T03:47:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _“Let me just check with Sundar Pichai, see what he has to say about that.”_ > > So, what did he have to say about that? Did you call him? email? Or is this some snark that I am supposed to know who he is, and thus know what he’d say about the subject? Note that his Wiki page does say is the CEO of a company that owns Google, but there’s no quotes from him about Google earth. Do you have a quote from him? If so, why not just post it, instead of snark? > > You post makes no sense at all. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Are you serious? I feel like I am chatting with someone on the spectrum. If so, I’m sorry. I was being mildly snarky with a joke like I could talk to the CEO of Google about why they do what they do. I thought what I first posted that you questioned was pretty obvious, but apparently not so. > > So have a good night. **Moderator Note** Let’s desist with the off topic posts. No warnings issued. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/31 "2020-02-13T11:25:47Z")
Never mind, didn’t see moderator note. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/32 "2020-02-13T11:31:02Z")
I know a guy who is a private investigator with many cars he uses. He blurs his property so no one can see that. I don’t know if that’s paranoid or smart, but he can ask for it and get it. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/33 "2020-02-13T15:18:44Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I really wonder why Google bothers with the blurring. It’s my understanding that if you’re on public land anything you photograph is fair game. Lots of things that are perfectly legal are nevertheless shitty things to do. If a homeowner doesn’t want their house visible on Google street view, it’s only fair for Google to address their concerns. It buys Google some goodwill, keeps the owner happy, and there’s very little downside. I do think the permanent nature of the blurring is a little weird. What if the house is sold and the next owner really wants it to be visible? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/34 "2020-02-13T16:06:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But what good does it do? It fosters goodwill with the person (and the public in general) who’s property they are using, without permission, to make money. The fact that this might backfire for the requester is irrelevant. . ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/35 "2020-02-13T18:14:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But what good does it do? In fact you get people curious , and more publicity. As **bob++** puts it- \*“The Streisand Effect” \*. > > So, it doesnt help and likely hurts. I don’t know. How many people, if they see a blurred house, are actually going to go through the trouble of driving there in person to see what’s going on? I certainly wouldn’t, unless I had specific and personal reason to be suspicious about that house. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/36 "2020-02-13T19:31:55Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > They likely didn’t realize that Google isn’t the only player in town, or maybe Microsoft doesn’t make it as easy to opt-out, because the house is viewable on [Bing Maps street view.](https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=1e2dac87-0bab-4866-92b5-a2d913cac835&cp=47.644751~-122.65066&lvl=19&dir=11.648043&pi=1.2820368&style=x&mo=z.0&imgid=dded5ce6-fb25-471f-844c-0119c61535de&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027) Same car, but no camper. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/37 "2020-02-13T19:41:02Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I do think the permanent nature of the blurring is a little weird. What if the house is sold and the next owner really wants it to be visible? Is it permanent in that future images are also blurred? Streetview cars will go over the same road multiple times in different years. I’ve seen some places that have as many as a couple dozen images from the same spot. So does anyone wanting to blur their house have to give repeated requests or do they blur them in future images automatically? If the latter, then the new owner just has to wait for the next visit of the car. Otherwise, maybe they can cancel the request for future images. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/38 "2020-02-13T19:47:18Z")
> [@jonpluc](#): > > Home Depots top seller right now is blurry paint. I think the manufacturer is _BigFoot Pigments_. They also make _Loch Ness Fuzzy Film._ ---
**Author:** ![drivekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@drivekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drivekiller)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/39 "2020-02-15T18:39:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But what good does it do? In fact you get people curious , and more publicity. As **bob++** puts it- \*“The Streisand Effect” \*. > > So, it doesnt help and likely hurts. Better plan – blur the house next door to your house. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780/40 "2020-02-15T20:18:40Z")
> [@drivekiller](#): > > Better plan – blur the house next door to your house. Nefarious! :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-blurred-house-on-google-earth-street-view/847780.md?page=3)