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So it appears that as of now, most of our homes are visible on the Street View feature on GoogleMaps.
Many people I have talked to think this feature is neat, but also find it to be an invasion of privacy. They don't like that anybody can just snoop around their neighborhood.
I do not share that opinion. I am 100% pro-Street View. The way I see it, unless you live in a gated subdivision (which aren't on street view to begin with) your house is open for prying eyes anyway. Anybody and everybody who cares enough can just go to your house in person if they want to see it so bad. I for one, feel more comfortable if the stalkers do their stalking from their computer screen several miles away instead of from the bushes in front of my house.
I think that street view is a great service. The street is a public place, and whatever is visible from there is fair game for dissemination online. It is useful for privacy that Google blurs faces and license plates to protect privacy.
As long as you cannot see the interior of the home, I don't see it as a true invasion or privacy. Anyone driving by or walking by the home will be able to see the same thing anyway. And Peeping Tom's will peer in the windows to see what they want to see. Street View does not have that capability, at least not that I can see.
How old are some of those areas on Streetview? Just checked my location (not even close to having it), then checked where my Cousin has a business. It has streetview for the location, but his building still has the previous business signage out front. My Cousin has had that building and his sign out front for almost 5 years now.
So it appears that as of now, most of our homes are visible on the Street View feature on GoogleMaps.
Many people I have talked to think this feature is neat, but also find it to be an invasion of privacy. They don't like that anybody can just snoop around their neighborhood.
I do not share that opinion. I am 100% pro-Street View. The way I see it, unless you live in a gated subdivision (which aren't on street view to begin with) your house is open for prying eyes anyway. Anybody and everybody who cares enough can just go to your house in person if they want to see it so bad. I for one, feel more comfortable if the stalkers do their stalking from their computer screen several miles away instead of from the bushes in front of my house.
I agree with you If it can be seen in person from a public place (street, sidewalk, park, alley, etc.) then no way is Street View invading privacy.
Most of the views are years old and are NOT "live cam views". If they were live cam views it would be a different story, as people could literally watch to see who comes and goes from a home. But my home's view is a year old. A friend's home across town is 3 1/2 years old. Both easily visible from the street as you're driving by, so, no invasion of privacy.
If a google car actually stops at a private gate that has a "private property" sign posted on it, the driver opens that gate, and then drives up the road to take pics of the home beyond that gate, yes, they should be held at fault for it.
Google offers and "opt out" option on the page where you can request your home be removed, and they handle it quickly. So folks can't say they are "forced" to show their homes on it. You can have it taken off. Also, if people are in the view, their faces are blurred out by Google. My brother-in-law is actually ON it! He was working in his yard when they drove by taking snaps, and he's right there looking at them - but they blurred his face out.
This is another service service that also offers satellite and close up views (called "Bird's Eye view," which appears in the toolbox in areas where it's available). It appears as though helicopter- or plane-mounted cameras were used. The Bird's Eye feature is available in most larger US cities and a few foreign cities.
Seems like this would be helpful for someone who wanted to remotely check out a neighborhood and plan an escape route before committing some crime.
I live in an area of Baltimore County that is very close to Lockheed Martin and also an Air National Guard. For obvious security reasons, my house (and the surrounding area) canned be viewed up close on Google Street View. I'm glad about that.
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If it can be seen in person from a public place (street, sidewalk, park, alley, etc.) then no way is Street View invading privacy.
