Google maps are getting better and more detailed than ever before. Using the street view feature, anyone can type in any address to get a full view of your property. Anyone—including criminals. If you have a home security system you might wonder if you should even be concerned about this and take the time to obscure the view of your property online. Our answer is, yes. Here’s why.
While the pictures shown on Google Maps are not in real time, they are current enough to gather information about things not likely to change over a short period of time. Take a look yourself and see if you can gain any intel from that the picture shows. Criminals are using technology, including Google Maps, like never before and are skilled at using it to determine how or if they should target your home.
Here is the kind of information a criminal might gather from a Google Maps street view:
- Location of doors and windows
- Location of gates, or weak places in the perimeter
- A view of video surveillance cameras
- Location of trees and shrubs for hiding places
- Location of utility boxes
- Signs of dogs
- Types of vehicles
- Where the house is in relation to a way of escape
- Determine the best point of entry based on the view from neighbor’s property
- Determine the likely value of things inside the house based on what is visible outside
Giving away information about your property is never smart, even when you have a home security system in place.
Obscure the View of Your Property on Google Maps
Since it is impossible to remove your property from Google Maps the next best thing is the option to obscure or blur the picture. Here are the steps to do that:
- Enter your address on Google Maps
- Click on the Street View by clicking the little yellow person in the corner of the image window on the left side of the screen
- Make sure that the image of your home (or whatever you want blurred) is shown and frame it in the window
- Click on the “Report a Problem” link in the bottom left corner of the image in the Street View pane on the right side of the screen
- Complete the form and click the “Submit” button
- Check back in a few days to see if it is completed.
At GuardMe Security, we take your safety and that of your family seriously. We care about your neighborhood because it is our neighborhood too. We have lived and worked here for over 20 years and plan to do all we can to help you feel safe at home. Contact us today for free home security analysis.
