Street View, an enhancement of Google Maps, launched in the UK yesterday, and already there has been plenty of discussion and debate around the service.
Street View provides an added experience by enabling users to see a location as you would if you were standing on the street. Use Street View to: View street level photographs, Take virtual walks; pan, rotate and zoom through cities around the world, Find shops, restaurants, parks, hotels and more.
Privacy issues
Much of the debate has centred around issues of privacy. As Google’s fleet of cars whisked around the nation snapping the 360 degree photos, countless thousands of innocent bystanders found themselves getting captured too. Google claims to have addressed this using automated software which blurs the faces of anyone in the images. And it seems to be pretty effective – even the statue outside my office got the blurry treatment.
Statue with blurred face
This is then backed up by a simplified process of image removal:
We make it easy for users to ask to have photographs of themselves, their children, their cars or their houses completely removed from the product, even where the images have already been blurred.
So surely that’s OK? Simon Davies, of Privacy International, doesn’t think so. As law website Outlaw.com reports, Davies plans to launch a legal campaign against Google, challenging the Information Commissioner’s earlier ruling that the process of blurring meant no laws were being broken. However, Outlaw’s technology lawyer, Struan Robertson, thinks there may not be a case:
There is no general legal requirement that people’s permission should be obtained before a photo of them is taken in a public place, even if the purpose is a commercial one.
Nevertheless, Google have already started getting requests for the removal of images, although they claim that number of requests to be less than expected, as Yahoo News reports.
And there is of course the many amusing images coming in, as highlighted by The Register (including one chap being rather unwell in London, and another chap discovering the lack of public facilities in Birmingham). Expect to see plenty more of these sorts of images, although Google are likely to remove them pretty quickly.
Uses
So what practical uses are there for Street View? Here are a few ideas:
Inspecting a neighbourhood
Imagine you’re thinking of moving. Street View lets you have a good look around any potential new neighbourhood, without having to go there first. You can check out the local shops, inspect the condition of the buildings, and even see how clean the streets are.
Plan a trip
One really handy usage could be when planning trips – especially if you’ve got a wheelchair, buggy or similar to consider. Check out which streets are wheelchair friendly, find suitable parking areas (you should be able to zoom into the signs to view the restrictions) and get a much better idea of where you’re going. Worth remembering that the photos were probably taken some time ago, so certain things may have changed.
Arranging to meet a friend or client
If you’re planning on meeting someone in the street, why not use Street View to suggest a precise spot. This could be really handy if you’re not familiar with the area – I recently arranged to meet someone in London and it took us 20 minutes to find each other, even though we were on the same block. Now I can just identify a landmark and see them there!
Choosing a holiday destination
Can’t decide where to go on holiday? Use Street View to check out possible destinations. Of course, that could rather ruin the fun and excitement of actually visiting the place in person. That said, if you’re on a tight budget, just spend the weekend on Street View and pretend you’re on holiday (convert screen grabs to holiday snaps to con your friends that you were actually there).
Criminal uses
I’m sure there are plenty of nefarious activities for which Street View could be employed. Some have even branded it a Burglar’s Charter. But we won’t explore those possibilities here.
Public service uses?
Obviously I’m also keen to see if local authorities can utilise the service, and if I think of something I’ll blog about it here. For a while now I’ve been looking into embedding Google Maps into some of our pages, and Street View could be a useful extension to this. Any comments welcome!
google street viewer is taking over the world!! but it is a great travel tool i used it all the time when picking a hotel in Paris!