How to blur out personal details on Google Maps

Google makes a valiant effort at blurring out many of the details at your residence when it takes images for street view. However, it’s not perfect and may miss a thing or two. If it happened to catch you in the middle of washing your car, or perhaps took some images of your home while it was undergoing construction, you have the option to blur out the details you don’t want revealed.

Keep in mind that this blur process is permanent, so if you are often giving directions to your home it can make it a bit harder to find. No more “look for the house with the red door and blue shutters” because that sort of detail will be wiped out. Still interested? Here’s how to blur out your details on Google Maps:

Step 1: From your computer, look up your address on Google Maps. Click the tiny link in the bottom right-hand corner labeled Report a problem.

Step 2:Click the background in the image to adjust the red box over what you want to blur out. You can also zoom in and out for a more precise placement of the box.

Step 3: Make selections for what you’re blurring out, provide your email and submit the form. Google will still need to evaluate your request to blur out the image in question.

And here’s what the result will look like:

Have you needed to remove something personal from Google Maps street view? Share your story in the comments.