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13 Mar 2010
Google Street View is seen by most UK consumers as an intrusive technology and nothing more than a ‘service for burglars’, according to a new poll reported in The Telegraph.
Discount website myvouchercodes.co.uk interviewed over 1,300 people about the service, which lets users of Google Maps switch from the traditional birds-eye view to a 360-degree street level view of towns and cities photographed by Google's car-top cameras.
According to the report 57 per cent of those interviewed described the service an ‘intrusion' while 24 per cent said that they believed it was ‘a service for burglars’. Three-quarters of those who labeled the service an ‘intrusion’ said that they were most angered by the fact they have not given permission for the publishing of images.
Just over a third said they thought the expansion of the service, announced on Thursday, was a positive thing.
However, according to The Telegraph, Thames Valley Police does not believe there is any evidence to suggest that the service caused an increase in burglaries.
Approximately 210,000 additional miles have been added to Street View with the latest update, bringing the total to around 238,000, according to Google.
It was beset by privacy problems when it launched, and Google was forced to pull several images that identified specific individuals. However, despite widespread complaints at the time, privacy watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office ruled that the tool did not breach the Data Protection Act.
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Do you agree?
Aid for burgulars
Yes I think it aids burgulars. Instead of standing outside your property and setting the dog off or alerting neighbours by taking photos, burgulars can spend hours deciding on the best way to approach your house and exit unseen.
Posted by: Chloe 17 Mar 2010
Paranoia
I can understand it when peoples faces slip through their blur program and you complain. However, how many times are you caught in pictures by random strangers taking pictures of their friends? Do you stop them in the street, and tell them "Excuse me, delete that picture, I don't want you to have my picture" Especially when it can be taken for granted that images will make it onto the net eventually these days. Then there's the paranoia that street view is as some say, a service for burglars, many images on street view are out of date, images of our house on it are of the previous tenants, not us. And even so, its not like burglars are a recent thing, street view or not, they're just as able to walk up the street and look through the windows as any non-burglar. Its simply paranoia, if there is a problematic picture, they offer a quick service to blur out missed faces, or other infringing pictures. I personally have really enjoyed using Street view to see what my family abroad's house and street looks like, as I doubt I'll ever be able to afford a trip myself. As do I enjoy sharing my own street view with friends who have moved away, showing them what my house looks like. Google street view is a fantastic service, and very fun to use. I for one hope it sticks around for a long time to come.
Posted by: Momiji 15 Mar 2010
Street View v. Google Earth
Every one who whines on about an intrusion on their privacy should take a look round at the surveillance cameras on virtually every street corner. As to slamming Street View, Google Earth has been showing peoples? back yards for quite a few years. Get a life!!!
Posted by: Peter Ibbotson 15 Mar 2010
Google Sreet View
I believe this is just the start, it is intended to get everyone use to having a camera outside their house so that 24 surveilance will be the norm. I believe Google should ask permission before people's houses are put on the Web. I do believe this give burgulars a great opurtunity to select targets and they can see at a glance what houses have alarms and with both the street view and arial view can plan their escape. I can't see any use for this system whatever it's a way to get us used to big brother
Posted by: Paul Roullier 15 Mar 2010
Well, people are stupid....
1000 odd people is not a very big sample size and all taken from one group of people means the results are fairly useless... Just because the Daily Mail says something is bad does not make it true.....
Posted by: Frankie D. 15 Mar 2010
Ridiculous
The idea that it is a service for burglars is crazy. It doesn't show anything that couldn't be seen by visiting it which any burglar with common sense would be bound to do. The pictures show public places and to suggest that Google need permission is absurd.
Posted by: Stephen 15 Mar 2010
Great
My wife and I moved from Gloucestershire some years ago and think its lovely to be able to take a close look at the area we once worked and lived, also in our holiday plans , to look at where we are going and what to expect, we think it's great.
Posted by: Mr H D Pegler 15 Mar 2010
Streetview what?
Have these people actually been told that StreetView is not a realtime view of their location? There is no such thing. In my area we have a new freeway that is nearly two years old and does not appear on StreetView or Google Maps for that matter. It shows only a dirt track! These images are at least 3 years old! More sensationalist crap!
Posted by: Marcusg 14 Mar 2010
Me thinks it can be ignored
If it's was not a independent survey performed on a random cross section of the population then it was a biased story as it just gave a vent for those people who were most bothered for some reason. And can therefore be ignored.
Posted by: Stuart Halliday 14 Mar 2010
Really?
A few things... 1. The numbers quoted in the article are not set within context, and as stated are contradictory (Is it 57%, or 73%? What were the questions? What size was the sample pool, and were they selected to eliminate potential bias?). The article itself is written from an inflammatory point of view, which is NOT good journalism. Report the facts, and leave the readers to make up their own minds. 2. Photographs of buildings or houses taken from public property (roads, footpaths, etc.) are not illegal; Google is not a peeping tom, they're just documenting the streetscape. Google also goes the extra mile to block out car tags and people's faces, as well as to remove pictures, or obscure portions there of, inadvertently containing potentially lewd or offensive images. 3. I actually really like Street View. It's especially helpful when house-hunting, allowing you to get an idea of what the house looks like, condition of its roof, and what the surrounding neighborhood is like. I can't tell you how much time this has saved me, and the realtor! Thank you for the valuable service, Google Street View. Rock on!
Posted by: Emily Smith 14 Mar 2010
Streetview vs social network picture publishing
So are people really saying that a photo of their street and house being published online is going to encourage burglars? Come on! Any burglar wouldn't bother relying on a 6 month old photo and would case the property themselves. Surely photos of the inside of houses uploaded to social network sites would give a burglar a better idea of which house was worth worrying about... but home owners couldn't blame anyone else for their own security short-comings then eh.
Posted by: freaked 14 Mar 2010
What rubbish..
This is absolutely rubbish to say it's introduced a service for burglars. Google Streetmaps just took pictures of public streets, which any Tom, Dick, or Harry could walk down and see for themselves. As the pictures were taken in a public place it's hardly an intrusion of privacy. It's funny that nobody seems to care less about having all those pictures banned that are taken every day when they walk down a street by CCTV cameras, also if you do a search for webcams on the internet there are quite a few webcams sending live feeds to the internet which are far more up to date than the Google ones. If a thief wanted to rob a house, they'd know which areas to target anyway, they wouldn't need Google streetmaps to tell them which areas are likely to have flashy cars, or houses with expensive items in them, and if they were going to do a big break in, they'd spend weeks in the area rather than rely on some picture from the internet that was taken 6-12 months ago! The main people who are scared of this new technology are the older generation who are scared of anything new, and try and prevent progression. I have recently used Google Streetmaps and I found it really useful, next year I'm planning a trip into Europe from France to Denmark and I wanted to find out what the roads would be like over there. It was so much better to be able to see the road layout, than to rely on a birds-eye view of a map. The media should be embracing this new technology and not trying to kill it off by worrying people to death over stupid things. It's stupid reports like this that result in more and more stupid things being added, like the signs on Nuts - "Warning may contain nuts", or fish - "warning may contain fish", well I'd bloody well hope it does, and all these stupid signs, and restrictions that are imposed on our every day life are all imposed by people being scared and not taking the time to think about it rationally.
Posted by: Darren 14 Mar 2010
Wondering...
...how "According to the report 57 per cent of those interviewed described the service an ?intrusion' " and then "A staggering seventy-three per cent labeled the service an ?intrusion? ". Which is it? Also, how can you state "Google Street View is seen by most UK consumers as an intrusive technology and nothing more than a ?service for burglars?," and yet "24 per cent said that they believed it was ?a service for burglars?."
Posted by: Quinn 13 Mar 2010
my 2p on the matter
Most UK residents are scared of their own shadows, and are very paranoid. The positives - most people you ask for directions are terrible and the good old A-Z only gets you so far, this creates visual 'prompts' for you/whoever asked directions. I used this and satelite view to find my local sealife center - That's practical. If this was only on the iphone and created by apple it would be lauded by all and branded genius. Also, vehicle reg plates/faces etc are blurred, if you find a picture violates privacy - guess what? You can notify google!
Posted by: j.read 13 Mar 2010
Google Street View a must have tool
Google Street View is a fantastic piece of New Technology allowing potential ?Real Estate Agents? to give a more accurate description of the area, and for the client to search from the comfort their armchair. Would you sooner discover before you buy a property if there were any bad aspects to the area in question rather than find out after you have bought the property? Simply by doing a combined search using Google Street View and Google Earth you can discover many bad things as well as good things, such as areas of land set aside and protected as areas of Scientific Interests. I found a most beautiful countryside park whilst using both of these systems. There?s far more plus factors than the same old boring alleged service for burglars. Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk
Posted by: Carl Barron 13 Mar 2010
Idiots
What is wrong with people these days, why are people so scared of technology, what can i see in google maps that i couldnt see by jumping in a car and driving to your house...........NOTHING! Dont fall into the daily mail brigade of media scare mongering!
Posted by: Mark 13 Mar 2010