Google’s virtual navigation service makes it possible to hide your home from internet users at a simple request. We explain how to do it.
Since 2007, Google Street View captures the world around us. More than 15 years of watching dozens of Google-branded cars, equipped with advanced panoramic cameras, cross and memorize the roads to create and feed this explorable 360-degree map of the world.
However, if this mapping tool is very convenient for finding your way around or traveling virtually to distant places, it still raises questions regarding privacy. In fact, any person in possession of your address can virtually go to your street to get an idea of where you live. To avoid this kind of trouble, it is quite possible to ask Google to blur your home Google Street View.
Enter home address
Open the web browser and go to Google Maps. Enter your home address in the search field.
Show your home on Street View
Two options are available to you:
- Click on Street View at the top left
- Drag and drop the icon in the form of a yellow man, located at the bottom right of the window, on the map to your home
to report a problem
Click on the three small dots on the box where the address is written. Select the “Report a problem” tab.
A new page opens with a preview of the address shown in Street View surrounded by a red frame. On the “Request Blur” line, select “My Home”. A small red square appears on the image delimiting the area to be blurred.
Once the red square is located, check the blur request, then provide your email address and confirm. Finally, click the “Submit” button to save your request. The process of blurring your home in Google Street View has started.
Note that Google will likely contact you again for further explanation to validate your request.