this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2026
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Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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[–] isar@lemmy.zip 2 points 11 hours ago

What if they update the photos every 6 months or so? Would the photo then be unblurred and you gaave google your address for nothing? Or do they blur 3D coordinates?

[–] privacydingus@lemmy.ml 21 points 23 hours ago

Do no do this, it will require more info to Google and make your house stick out like a sore thumb.

[–] danielfm123@lemmy.zip 17 points 1 day ago

So now they know where you live....

[–] DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 day ago

Feeding Google more data is always a good idea...

[–] kossa@feddit.org 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

😅. Okay, story time:

When StreetView was introduced this dominated public debate in Germany for weeks. It was all the rage, "how dare they to photograph everything?"

One official even suggested "it's awesome, police can now patrol the streets from an office chair", because that is how much of a backwater country Germany is digitally.

Anyway, people saw immediately all the crime which all the criminal criminals would do with this tool (which tells you something about the state of mind of the "righteous folks"). Anyway, half the country was blurred, because everybody knew about it. And it is the reason, why StreetView is so patchy in Germany (or at least was for the longest time, didn't check much in recent years) compared to the neighbouring states, 'cause Google pretty much said "Fuck these fucking Germans with their fucking shit".

Apple came around some years later with their version, nobody cared anymore 😅

[–] Actionschnils@feddit.org 5 points 16 hours ago

Im happy a lot of people care about privacy here in Germany. Thanks to that, we are few more steps away from the dystopian shitholes many other societies formed into.

[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 21 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Why would I do this? It’s just a door with a number on it.

[–] rethnor@lemmy.zip 2 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

You can confirm a person's residence by the cars in front of their house. Cross reference objects in the background and if not blurred objects and features in their front yard. Blurring doesn't totally stop this as I've tracked down people's houses from satellite imagery and Facebook pictures to confirm where they lived.

[–] 3abas@lemmy.world -1 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Unless you're renting, your home ownership is public information. You can lookup anybody in your state's public records and know what properties they own and what their mortgage for it is.

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Wow we must all live in the exact same place with the exact same laws...

[–] BlackVenom@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

I didn't vote for this

[–] 3abas@lemmy.world -3 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

I love this comment. The post is discussing a US company and how to remove your US addressed home from its database by providing proof of your home ownership, and some smartass has to point out that they don't live there.

I don't either, I can just stay on topic. I know Google won't know what to do with my Arabic language deed that doesn't match down to a single home easily on a map, but it's irrelevant so I don't just inject it into the conversation.

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

I dont see anything to suggest this is US based.

[–] GladiusB@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yea. I don't really care either. I don't see the point in making the effort. Unless I am missing something.

All it seems like is an easy way for google to link your address to the rest of your data.

[–] Raven8628@lemmy.zip 64 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Google maps has a picture of my house from about 10 years before i moved in and it looks exactly like all the other houses around me...

...but i should give google personal information and utility bills to get it taken down?

Nah.

[–] scytale@piefed.zip 144 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The two counter arguments to this are:

  1. You are giving more personal data to google to prove you live at that address.

  2. A blurred house on street view makes you stand out and can make burglars think you are some rich guy with valuable stuff in their house.

[–] Dextofen@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 day ago

Yeah this is exactly like the DNR (Do Not Track Request) built into browsers. It was off by default. Turning it on was only done by privacy focused individuals. But it made you significantly more trackable because almost nobody turns it on, your browser becomes a lot more unique.

Thankfully browsers stopped supporting it. But this is the same thing. Very few people will use it, so that it'll make you stand out instead of helping you.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yeah, I was about to say, I'm not falling for this "privacy" service lol. Nice try, Google.

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[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The house we moved to last year had been blurred by the previous owners. It's permanent, so we don't get a choice about it.

Tbh this is the only house I've ever looked up that was blurred.

I get why, but it's also inconvenient. So many of us (in my area, anyway) look up the house on Streetview when going to an unfamiliar address, to help orient ourselves.

It's not something I lose sleep over. But given the option, in a neighbourhood with no other blurred houses, in a low-crime, lost surveillance area, I don't think I would have chosen to blur the house.

[–] atx_aquarian@lemmy.world 6 points 16 hours ago

Have you thought about installing a giant blur filter in front of your property so it matches the image? Or maybe a good artist can give it a faux blur with some paint and other effects?

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 48 points 1 day ago (6 children)

don't tell google where you live

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[–] adwijoma@lemmy.ml 125 points 2 days ago (18 children)

I'd rather my door be visible than tell google where I live.

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[–] impairedimperator@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 day ago

Damn, they'll have to go all the way to zillow if they wanna case your place, huh?

[–] SnoopSqueak@lemmy.today 171 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"Google says the document is deleted after 60 days."

Lol. They absolutely keep all of the data.

[–] SnoopSqueak@lemmy.today 95 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"Just give us your name, address, and more, and we'll stop violating your privacy (on the surface). Training AI? Well, obviously. Selling to data brokers? I mean, why wouldn't we? We'll delete the document after we've stored all the details in our database, of course."

[–] lattrommi@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago

Yeah, doesn't say anything about copies being destroyed.

Now that I think about it, is that a threat? Is google going to come to my house and set all my documents on fire in 60 days?

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 41 points 2 days ago (7 children)

Tbh the outside of my home is publicly viewable anyway. I can't think of why I'd care much.

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[–] hexdream@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Anyone going to try this with the Whitehouse?

[–] echo@lemmy.today 59 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Everyone does know that the front of your house is visible from the street, right?

[–] Cris_Citrus@piefed.zip 53 points 2 days ago (27 children)

Yes, but with google maps it's visible from anywhere. And some folks might prefer that it not be 🤷🏻‍♂️

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[–] Lanske@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago

Lol as i am going to send google extra information to get a bit more privacy back. Thata stupid

[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 33 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Being the only blurred thing in the area seems a little conspicuous though

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[–] dubs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 41 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"permanant"

Brought to you by the same companies that "accidentally" re-add you to their spam lists.

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