Vehicles scour the streets of cities in most countries snapping pictures of their surroundings to allow for an on-the-ground experience via Street View (Google), Look Around (Apple), or Streetside (Bing). This includes the public frontage of your home or other buildings you occupy. You might even spot yourself, though mapping companies apply automatic blurring to faces.
If you’d like to opt out of a property you own or rent appearing in one of these street-level views, you can use a reporting or request method in each service:
- Apple: Apple requires that you email them “to request that a face, license plate, or your own house be censored.” The address is MapsImageCollection@apple.com.
- Google: Visit maps.google.com and go to the address of concern. Expand the side panel on the left, then click the photo in the side panel to have it enlarge in your browser. Look for an info box in the upper left of the photo and click on the icon of the three vertical dots. In the pop-up that appears, click “Report a problem” and select what you would like to have blurred from the “Request blurring” list of options. You can also submit via the Google Maps app.
- Microsoft: Visit Bing Maps, click “Report a privacy concern with this image” at the lower-left corner of the page, and select House (or another option) from “What kind of concern do you have?” You can describe in the text box below that you want to have your house blurred.
Ask Mac 911
We’ve compiled a list of the questions we get asked most frequently, along with answers and links to columns: read our super FAQ to see if your question is covered. If not, we’re always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours to mac911@macworld.com, including screen captures as appropriate and whether you want your full name used. Not every question will be answered, we don’t reply to email, and we cannot provide direct troubleshooting advice.
