Google Street View

[Justine]

I don't see the big deal about it, I think it's awesome that you can see what neighbourhoods look like. I even went through and tried to find myself in it.

[itsjustmebub]

wow, I see my ugly little house! lol

[Andit]

There was a segment on the news tonight about people caught in embarrassing poses. One poor fellow was seen coming out of an adult, um, entertainment facility. Let`s hope his wife or gf doesn`t see it.

[marcianne]

I think this is really neat. I like it a lot. As for privacy issues, Toronto Star writes:

Google was criticized by privacy advocates after Street View launched in 13 other countries. Sensitive to public concerns, the company is willing to blur faces more strongly or even delete certain images if visitors find them "sensitive," spokeswoman Tamara Micner said.

Each Street View image includes a "report a problem" link. Several of the photographs that bloggers and Twitter users flagged as humorous early Thursday, including one showing a man helping a young child prepare to urinate under a tree, had been removed from Street View by the late afternoon.

"Typically, if it's yourself or your car or your house or your kids, those are kind of the most common ones ... We respond within 24 hours," Micner said.

And this is the camera behind Google's steetview maps.

[swallow_046]

my neighbour is in his underwear picking up his flyers. o_O. He been doing that for years but now everyone will be able to see

[Patty Smyth]

You know this summer without even realizing it until I saw it today on tv we were flollowing that car around one day. I thought it was a loudspeaker system. It was popping up all over the place around here. Now if only i can figure out how to use it maybe i will see my car. LOL

[marcianne]

my neighbour is in his underwear picking up his flyers. o_O. He been doing that for years but now everyone will be able to see

The streetview map is not live. There's no way your neighbor will be seen picking up his flyers. Besides, Google is willing to blur faces or even delete images if people find them sensitive.

[Lua]

i remember seeing the car go down my parents street in oshawa one day in the early summer... not sure if they went as far as my town though. will have to check this weekend.

a friend of mine posted on fb that you can see her sis and her dog on it lol

As for my thought on the thing as a whole, I really think it's a great idea for a tool to be used with maps. What if you had to go somewhere in a strange town that you've never been to? I think this tool is amazing as it will allow you to get a feel for the area you are going to - you will know what the building looks like, landmarks around it. The only way i see this as a privacy issue is where you can actually see people on it. Google should just wipe off all the people from it, but leave everything else.

[sniperc151]

I don't know why people are so concerned over this, it is a great tool. Really there is no such thing as privacy if you are not inside of your residence. If the media can run over to you take your picture and put it on a magazine then this is fine as far as I am concerned. Plus most people have a facebook page which is the biggest invasion of privacy since they own your photos and information you post and can use it all for marketing/selling/anything.

[thecountess]

Yesterday I google-mapped my address in street view and also looked up and down my street... and lo and behold, I saw myself walking! I was seriously freaked out, I recognized myself right away, and I'm sure anyone else would have also. So I reported the image and asked for it to be removed and this is the email reply I got:

Hello,

Our records show that you recently reported an image within Google Maps Street View.This image has been removed from our service and will disappear within the next 24 hours.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you and appreciate your patience while we dealt with this.
If you still see the image after 24 hours, your browser's cache may cause the issue. Please clear your browser's cache and check the image. To clear the cache, please check the link below.

Regards,
The Google Maps Team

I just checked and sure enough, they took it off!

If you see yourself in any of the pictures (and are upset by it), make sure you report it, you will see "Report a Problem" on the page and the next page you can cite "Privacy Issues" as your reason for asking for it to be removed

[Deal_Princess]

I wouldnt care if they caught me on the cam as long as they blur my face. Whats the big deal? people see you walking around every day. Not like you were naked. lol

[roseofblack25]

I wouldnt care if they caught me on the cam as long as they blur my face. Whats the big deal? people see you walking around every day. Not like you were naked. lol

hahaha I need to find you this one pic of what they caught...this one chick is standing near her window topless with umm sex toys in the window sill rofl its on some site with funny pics

[Ricki911]

<TABLE class=cities><THEAD><TR><TH width=140>Province</TH><TH>City</TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY id=tbody><TR class=first><TD>Alberta</TD><TD>Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prarie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>British Columbia</TD><TD>Cranbrook, Gold River, Kamloops, Kimberly, Merritt, Pemberton, Port Hardy, Prince George, Prince Rupert , Revelstoke, Vancouver</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>Manitoba</TD><TD>Brandon, Dauphin, Grand Rapids, Snow Lake, Swan River, The Pas, Thompson</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>New Brunswick</TD><TD>Bathurst, Campbelton, Caraquet, Edmondston, Grand Falls, Miramichi, Plaster River</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>Newfoundland</TD><TD>Bay Roberts, Bonavista, Carbonear, Channel-Port-aux Basques, Corner Brook, Deer Lake, Gander, Harbor Grace, St. Johns, Stephenville</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>Northwest Territories</TD><TD>Inuvik</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>Nova Scotia</TD><TD>Amherst, Antigonish, Guysborough, Halifax, New Glasgow, Port Hawkesbury, Sydney</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>Ontario</TD><TD>Baysville, Brighton, Chapleau, Niagra Falls, North Bay, Norwich, Ottawa, Pembroke, Port Colborne, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Catherines, St. Marys, St. Thomas, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Trenton, Welland</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>Prince Edward Island</TD><TD>Charlotteton, Mimigenash, Mt. Pleasant, Summerside</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>Quebec</TD><TD>Alma, Baie-Saint-Paul, Beauceville, Cowansville, Gaspe, La Baie, Macamic, Malartic, Montreal, Plessisville, Quebec, Rimouski, Sainte Marie, Saint-Prosper, Sherbrook, Thetford Mines, Waterloo</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>Saskatchewan</TD><TD>Canora, North Battleford, Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD>Yukon Territory</TD><TD>Dawson, Haines Junction, Mayo, Ross River, Watson Lake, Whitehorse</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



I find it a little creepy. I wonder how often they update it. I dont have to worry they havent come to any part of the provinces Im in. But I think this is the breach of privacy. These people didnt consent to being posted on the internet. I think this will increase crimes and violence.

[TempletonPeck]

I think the issue with removal of images in violation, is that the image is already out there and been seen.

It's great that it gets removed fairly quickly, but the damage is already done.

[Andit]

I think the issue with removal of images in violation, is that the image is already out there and been seen.

It's great that it gets removed fairly quickly, but the damage is already done.

I still question why people are bothered by it. After all, someone could be taking a picture of a building & catch someone by accident & post it on Facebook. How is that different?

& if the camera caught you doing something you`re embarrassed about, maybe you shouldn`t have been doing that in the first place.

Then again, I live in an area frequented by tourists (with their cameras) & have really nosy neighbours that grill me every time I have anyone over. One time a male friend came over (to fix my computer), I had half a dozen gossips, er, neighbours come knocking on my door, asking to borrow sugar & eggs.