Google Maps is the most popular navigation tool on the internet, making it easy to find where you’re going, including the street view feature that gives you a look at the address. While this can be handy for finding parking at a business, it also means your front door, yard or driveway is likely visible to anyone who searches for your address.
If that makes you uneasy, you’re not alone. Having your home so easily accessible online can raise real privacy concerns, especially if you’d rather keep your personal space off-limits.
The good news is that Google gives you a way to blur your home on Street View. Here’s how to do it and reduce how much of your home is visible online.
For more, check out essential Google Maps tips for travel.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
How to blur your home on Google Maps
You’ll need to do this on your computer since the blurring feature isn’t available in the Google Maps application on iOS or Android. It is accessible through the web browser on your mobile device, but it’s rather difficult to use, so your best option is a trusted web browser on your Mac or PC.
At maps.google.com, enter your home address in the search bar at the top-right, hit return, then click the photo of your home that appears.
Next, you’ll see the Street View of your location. Click Report a Problem at the bottom-right. The text is super tiny, but it’s there.
Now, it’s up to you to choose what you want Google to blur. Using your mouse, adjust the view of the image so that your home and anything else you want to blur are all contained within the red and black box. Use your cursor to move around and the plus and minus buttons to zoom in and out, respectively.
Once you’re finished adjusting the image, choose what you’re requesting to blur underneath:
- A face
- Your home
- Car/license plate
- A different object
You’ll be asked to provide a bit more detail about what you want blurred in case the image is busy with cars, people and other objects.
Also, be completely sure that what you select is exactly what you want blurred. Google cautions that once you blur something on Street View, it’s blurred permanently.
Finally, enter your email (this is required), verify the captcha (if needed), and click Submit.
You should then receive an email from Google that says it’ll review your report and get back to you once the request is either denied or approved. You may receive more emails from Google asking for more information regarding your request. Google doesn’t offer any information on how long your request will take to process, so just keep an eye out for any further emails.
For more, take an inside look at how Google built Immersive View for Maps.
