Photo: Google Street View
Google Maps and Apple Maps are both very valuable tools when it comes to exploring a certain region from the comfort of your own sofa.
Google Street View and Apple Look Around provide access to high-quality street-level imagery that makes it possible to see the surroundings in any location just like you’d be there.
But of course, such photos can sometimes show sensitive information that shouldn’t be there in the first place. And this is what happened recently with the home of none other than Apple’s CEO Tim Cook.
It was recently discovered that Google Maps and Apple Maps blurred Tim Cook’s house on their street-level imagery, possibly due to some recent stalking concerns.
A 45-year-old Virginia woman not only threatened Tim Cook but she was also seen close to his home, so most likely, the Apple boss himself requested the blur on the two mapping services and therefore made his house impossible to inspect online.
While we’re not here to discuss these stalking allegations, worth knowing is that anyone can send a similar request to Google and Apple.
In other words, if you don’t want your house to be visible on Google Street View and Apple Look Around, just reach out to the company using the dedicated forms.
Google, for example, says blurring certain elements is part of its efforts to protect others’ privacy, so it can blur faces, homes, and other identifying information. Apple too says that users can have their faces, license plates, or houses censored on its services, and reaching out to the company should be enough for the whole thing. It goes without saying you’ll have to confirm your identity before the blur is enabled on the flagged images.
Additional information on how to do the whole thing can be found in these Google and Apple documents.
But of course, such photos can sometimes show sensitive information that shouldn’t be there in the first place. And this is what happened recently with the home of none other than Apple’s CEO Tim Cook.
It was recently discovered that Google Maps and Apple Maps blurred Tim Cook’s house on their street-level imagery, possibly due to some recent stalking concerns.
A 45-year-old Virginia woman not only threatened Tim Cook but she was also seen close to his home, so most likely, the Apple boss himself requested the blur on the two mapping services and therefore made his house impossible to inspect online.
While we’re not here to discuss these stalking allegations, worth knowing is that anyone can send a similar request to Google and Apple.
In other words, if you don’t want your house to be visible on Google Street View and Apple Look Around, just reach out to the company using the dedicated forms.
Google, for example, says blurring certain elements is part of its efforts to protect others’ privacy, so it can blur faces, homes, and other identifying information. Apple too says that users can have their faces, license plates, or houses censored on its services, and reaching out to the company should be enough for the whole thing. It goes without saying you’ll have to confirm your identity before the blur is enabled on the flagged images.
Additional information on how to do the whole thing can be found in these Google and Apple documents.
Google News