Calls to shut down Google's Streetview!?

[Andeh13]

I see Google's new streetview as a fantastic new feature and a really useful one as well. Its infuriating watching a small group of individuals trying to get it pulled down again. Google couldn’t do more to protect the privacy of individuals, yet some people are still complaining about it.

Im just relieved that these people arnt in any positions of power, we'd still be living in caves otherwise.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7959362.stm

That aside; has anyone tried using the program, or tracked themselves down? I spent nearly 2 hours trying to work out what time/date the google car went round Coventry (3.58, on a Sunday mid summer). I even pulled up behind him a few days ago (camera down & folded away) but didn’t manage to take a picture in time!

[Rebel]

Well everyone is entitled to an opinion, including you, fortunately we don't all have to agree with it.

There is enough invasion of privacy from the government I don't want to see private companies joining in even if you do.

[Andeh13]

Im curious as to how you feel it is an invasion of your privacy?

Faces are well blurred out, as are numberplates. There is no way of telling when the picture was taken (iv spent hours trying it and iv managed to narrow it down to one day, mid summer) and it is nigh on impossible to find yourself (again, iv been trying). On top of that, all it takes is a reasonable reason for google to pull down any picture.

Surely this sort of feature far outwieghs any possible downside it might have, and therefore should be encouraged to be more widespread?

[JK Ferret]

Where's Wally?

[Andeh13]

Where's Wally?

haha, now that just plain made my day. Nice seeing Google has a sense of Humor!

[Rebel]

Name ONE benefit to this "feature" as you call it, because as far as I and my 50 plus years of experience are concerned there is not one.

If nothing is identifiable there is no point whatsoever and if properties are identifiable then they immediately become targets for undesirables especially if the properties are in an affluent area. At the very least it gives people who have NO RIGHT to that information clues about property security etc.

So as I said YOU are entitled to your own opinion, as am I and my opinion as a house owner that has earned and paid for his property is unless you have good legal reason to know about my property and my life you should go forth ..... etc.

[Bunjiweb]

Some of the arguments I have heard for closing this down are absolutely absurd. Do they really think that street view will help burglars and that it is a violation of our privacy? The only pictures that are on the service are of fully public places that are watched by CCTV 24 hours a day anyway?! Surely this is a far greater privacy violation being recorded everywhere we go?

Ben

P.S. *Rebel* What's to stop me pulling up outside your house and taking as many pictures as I like and maybe a few videos of when you leave the house? As long as I do it from public property, i.e. the road like Google did, where's the problem? The idea that this is an invasion of your privacy any more than being recorded on CCTV in every shop / high-street / road you've ever been down in the last few years is ridiculous!

[Andeh13]

Aside from it being a bit of fun to search for things, its usefull if you need to find a house on a street. Id much rather sit at my PC clicking through a few pictures rather then driving up the road, with someone sitting on my bumper waiting impatiently for me to see through various hedgeways for a house number or name.

Not only that but last week a mate of mine was looking at a flat he was thinking of living in. We new it was on manor road, but werent sure where. Load up streetview have a gander down the street and find said property. Saves driving round the block twice, once to find the building, a second time to find a parking spot outside it (one way roads n all).


For times like this i think it is dead usefull. As for not liking your house on it, you can quite easily get it removed, again a few clicks within the program. Hence me not understanding why people are anoyed by its launch, its a usefull program that couldnt do more to help protect peoples privacy. On the flipside, who really cares if they know where your house is, your car is or even if you can be seen walking down the road? The picture were taken months ago, a lot will have changed since then (ie where your car was parked, what car you have and where you were at that particular time), and at the end of the day someone could quite easily drive up your road and get the same (and more) infomation.


edit; the only view i can see of yours is a robber wanting to rob a house on a street and using streetview to see which house looked the easiest to break into, but again...walking up the road would give him more infomation, and wouldnt open him up to risks of using 6 month old pictures.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It is great software though!! My mate and I were trawling though the centre of NY city virtually and you can even go back in time to an earlier point too!! Great fun!!

[ACiD303]

has anyone tried using the program, or tracked themselves down?

Found myself instantly - only seen the car once, and we (being in a car ourselves) were right behind it as it pulled out in front of us. We were waving to the camera, but the wide angle perspective put us too far out of view!

[TAKTAK]

Name ONE benefit to this "feature"

It is being used by (at least 1) major insurance company to combat false claims...
Reducing insurance costs for everyone...

That's a benefit in my mind...

[G4Z]

Well, I am quite clearly visable on streetview nad my friends can tell its me.

Will I ask for it to be pulled..?

Nah, im famous!!!

Really though, as much as I love my privacy I really don't think being pictured in public is an invasion of privacy. It's not like they followed me around, I got snapped on the street is all. It does show me coming out of work, I would rather not specify who I work for so I won't post the link.

[HSK]

As long as they're photographing in a public place, there no real invasion of privacy yes? I'm going on the fact you can take a pic of anyone or anything while your stood in a public place, or even be there your self, so you could essentially say, what's the difference.

[Whiternoise]

One benefit? Well for a start it's a hell of a lot easier to find out where your going if you can see the street, rather than trying to work out what buildings are from their aerial profile. You can say, "ah ok, so i walk down, past 'Smiths, turn left at the Sainsbury's and it's the house with the big blue door".

Another? It's a great way of looking at potential houses - since a lot of online estate agents only have pictures their clients have taken.

Yet another? You can look for places to go as if you were walking there, you can get a much better idea of distances too.

Something i've found really cool is looking at places where i used to live, for instance my dad's old house in oxford has been almost totally changed by its occupants!

There is a LOT of use for street view!

I don't think it's an invasion of my privacy at all.. if people want to look at my house they are more than entitled to walk down and stare at it all they want. Let them be jealous and in awe of my hovel!

Do you honestly think that people are sitting on their computers looking for houses to burgle on street view? It tells them virtually nothing about the house. (Legal disclaimer - i'm NOT a burglar) If i was to "case a joint" i'd want to see how much security the house had, what time it's occupants were in (their routines), are there any back entrances, loose fittings, do they have a dog, etc. You could get none of that from street view - at best you could see how big the house is from the front and even that isn't reliable. Security wise the most you'd get is if they have an external burglar alarm and if their windows are double glazed or not - do they have motion sensors? you can't tell, do they have a burglar alarm? you can't tell, are those windows as shabby as they look? probably, but not worth the risk hedging your bets on google.

The casual criminal will just walk around looking for an opening, the more intrepid criminal will stake out your house in person (i know from experience of being burgled, and my dad was told subsequently by the police that the people who did it cased most of the neighbourhood over a period of time - they certainly wouldn't be using streetview had it existed then).

Legally there is no ground whatsoever for removal. They have given you the option of removing your details if they exist, and as mentioned you can have your house removed if you want. They are taking pictures in public places, on public soil and that's well within the rules of photography in this country.

[matty-hodgson]

i dunno how true this is, but on the average UK resident gets caught on CCTV 300 times a day.
and you think that being in 1 more photo in your whole life is gonna make any difference?

brilliant idea imo

[explicitlyrics]

I have to say I am thoroughly for Street view, I think it is a fantastic idea and helps so much when navigating a new area, however there are a couple of issues.

It is a lot easier for criminals to virtually walk down a street looking for POTENTIAL targets, saving them effort. Thankfully I think this is such a ridiculous issue it is hardly worth considering.

Whilst they have blurred out some number plates and faces, they have obviously got to tweak their algorithm since I have already found two faces (one on my street and one by my college - the first two places I looked) which are not even slightly blurred, you can see she has blue eyes!!! I have also found one number plate not blurred which I think is unlikely to be an issue but could be.

I think a far simpler solution would be to completely black out any car/person that is detected, rather than just the face/number plate. In any case there should have been more effort put into ensuring privacy before general release, that way there would be much less controversy!