One of the awkward things on the internet related to privacy is the ability to look up an address and *see* the house. With Google Maps you can view almost any address. For instance, here is a house on the street I grew up on.

It is a little uncomfortable that anyone anywhere can view where you grew up.  Yeah sure, the image blurs our license plates and faces, but the the HOUSE is still there. Well now you can hide your house too.

Follow these instructions to hide YOUR house:

  1. Go to Google Maps and enter your home address
  2. Enter into Street View mode by dragging the small yellow human-shaped icon, found in the bottom-right corner of the screen, onto the map in front of your house
  3. With your house in view, click “Report a problem” in the bottom-right corner of the screen
  4. Center the red box on your home, and select “My home” in the “Request blurring” field
  5. Write in the provided field why you want the image blurred (for example, you may be concerned about safety issues)
  6. Enter in your email address, and click “Submit”

Just be careful, because Google warns you that once it has blurred your house on Street View “it is permanent.” I wonder though how this works if you move. If it is permanent, the next home buyers won’t know what their own house looks like :D.