What is Street View? Street View takes Google Maps to a new level, allowing you to visually explore and navigate a neighbourhood through panoramic street-level photographs. It enables you to view and navigate 360 degree street level imagery of various cities around the world, providing greater understanding of a specific location or area.
How do i use Street View? Start by going to
maps.google.co.uk. In areas
where Street View is available, you can access it by zooming into the
lowest level on Google Maps, or by dragging the orange "Pegman" icon on
the left-hand side of the map onto a street. For more detailed
instructions,
see hereWhat can Street View be used for? Street View has a variety of practical uses. Using Street View you can easily find the exact location for your crucial meeting and the nearest coffee shop, plan a restaurant venue to meet friends for dinner, or find the best viewing spot for a marathon or parade. If you are moving house or re-locating, you can save time by exploring properties and their surrounding area in advance and also by looking up driving directions. Street View allows you to check out a hotel or holiday home before you book, and to explore different travel destinations around the world. How does it all work? Street View cars have special cameras that take photographs as they drive down public streets. Once the photographs have been taken they go through computer processing to make them ready for use on Google Maps. This includes our face blurring technology, which helps make sure that passers-by in the photographs can’t be identified. We will also blur legible license plates. When we have enough imagery collected and processed for an area we add it to Google Maps. It goes without saying, therefore, that the imagery isn’t real-time, in fact it usually takes several months from when the photograph is taken until it appears on Google Maps. |
Where does Street View imagery come from? Can people submit imagery? Street View imagery is gathered by vehicles equipped with advanced imaging technology, driving on public roads. At this time, we're not accepting photo submissions for inclusion in Street View. How does Street View respect privacy? Street View only features photographs taken on public property and the imagery is no different from what a person can readily see or capture walking down the street. Imagery of this kind is available in a wide variety of formats for cities all around the world. We are committed to respecting local laws and norms in each country in which we launch Street View. Blurring technology and operational controls like image removal are amongst the ways in which we ensure that an individuals’ privacy is respected. 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. And when we've inadvertently missed a face or license plate, which happens from time to time, you can let us know and we'll correct it. How can someone get an image taken down? It’s very easy to remove images from Street View. If a user finds an image that they consider objectionable (such as nudity) they can report it by clicking on 'report a concern' in the bottom left corner of the Street View image. Here there is an easily accessible form to report inappropriate imagery. Once the claim is verified, the image is removed. Where is Street View currently available? You can find 360 degree street level imagery for places as far afield as Australia, USA, Italy, France, Spain, New Zealand and Japan. We're working to expand our coverage to
areas that are not presently covered. Keep track of new cities being added to Street View from around the world here. More questions? Contact laurascott@google.com, 0207 031 3049 or 0207 031 3130 |
Frequently Asked Questions |