ATLANTA — In today’s digital age, seeing what someone’s home looks like is often just a click away.
Google Maps Street View lets you virtually tour a city using a collection of photos taken over the years.
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The images could be useful for people trying to get a feel for an area, or to make sure a friend is in the right house, or even for criminals scouting potential targets.
“This is the trade-off between personalization and privacy,” said Ramnath Chellappa, a professor at Emory University.
But recently, more and more homeowners have been asking Google to blur their homes in an attempt to reclaim their privacy.
“It’s definitely better than nothing, as it will make it harder for a would-be burglar to get a clear view of the entrance to a house where the cameras are installed,” Prof Chellappa said.
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But he says this is just a first step: Blurring your home won’t remove it from sites like Zillow, Apple Maps and other online services where photos and information about it may appear. It just makes it a little harder for would-be criminals, Chellappa says.
“If you feel this is intrusive, then go and do it,” Chellappa said.
How do I blur my home?
This process has been around for years and is simple.
Go to Google Maps and navigate to the address in Street View. Look for the three dots near the address, go to “Report a Problem” and request that your home be blurred. You can also move the box image so that your entire home is blurred. Then submit your request.
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