Google Street View provides us with a way to take a stroll through streets we'd never otherwise visit, perhaps to scout out a new home, take a stroll down memory lane, or just to have a good ol' snoop. However, not everyone is in favor of having their house displayed on the tool, and now there are a number of simple steps that you can follow to have yours removed. Launched <a href="https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2007-06-01-google-maps-privacy_N.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in 2007</a>, Street View is a collection of interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world, which have been captured by roving vehicles and individual photographers, For obvious reasons, it has been a controversial website from the start. This video details the top 10 shocking things spotted on UK Street View:  [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvoU5jS9Zgk]] The Minnesota suburb of North Oaks, for example, decided that it did not want to be featured on Google Street View in 2008, and it threatened the tech giant with trespassing charges, causing Google to remove the images it had of the town, <a href="https://mashable.com/2008/06/01/north-oaks-google-maps/?europe=true">Mashable reports</a>. The UK's <a href="https://ico.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)</a> received a formal complaint from the lobbying organization Privacy International that claimed that Google had failed to adequately anonymize those captured by its technology. As noted by a <a href="https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7959362.stm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BBC report</a>, this failure to anonymize those captured could have potentially serious consequences. "Among them was a woman who had moved house to escape a violent partner but who was recognizable outside her new home on Street View," read the article, describing complaints made to Privacy International. "Also complaining were two colleagues pictured in an apparently compromising position who suffered embarrassment when the image was circulated at their workplace," the article adds. <img class="wp-image-12618089" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/10/9fa2e29f-screen-shot-2020-10-19-at-14.01.02.png" alt="Google Street View." width="705" height="415" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Google Street View / Screenshot]] Google even <a href="https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/wifi-data-collection-update.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">admitted</a> in 2010 that its Street View vehicles - which are constantly circling neighborhoods around the world - collected information from the unencrypted WiFi networks that they passed. Thankfully, while there could be some serious consequences to images of you or your home getting into the wrong hands, removing yourself from Street View is quite a simple process, and can be done by following these steps: <blockquote>1. Go to <a href="https://www.google.com/maps" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Maps</a> and enter your home address 2. Drag the small yellow human-shaped icon to enter into Street View mode, found in the screen's bottom-right corner of the screen, then drag it in front of your home 3. Once your home is in view, select "Report a problem" in the bottom-right corner of the screen 4. Center the red box on your home and click "My home" in the "Request blurring" field 5. In the provided field, explain why you want your home blurred (i.e. privacy) 6. Enter in your <a href="https://mashable.com/article/how-to-create-burner-email-account/">email address</a> and hit "Submit"</blockquote> <img class="wp-image-12618087" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/10/5c18658a-screen-shot-2020-10-19-at-13.53.05.png" alt="A screenshot of Google Maps." width="650" height="547" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Google Maps]] However, before you remove your house from the service, you have to be sure that it's what you want as the action is permanent. Once you hit "submit," Google will send you an email stating that it's "reviewing the image you reported and will email you when your request is resolved." After this, Google might get in touch for more information if they need you to be more specific about the information that you want to be removed. If this happens, you will need to repeat the process, but otherwise, your home will now be removed from Street View.

Here's how to blur your house on Google Street View

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