Google cars photograph Lithuania's streets for updated Street View

Google's Street View cars are back on Lithuanian streets, capturing new imagery that will be added to the service by October. This initiative allows residents to see what their homes and neighborhoods look like from a public perspective by simply entering their address into Google Maps.

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There is significantly more information about us on the internet than we imagine. We leave some of it ourselves on social networks or other platforms, and some becomes publicly available without our actions. Therefore, it is worth checking what information about us or our homes other people can find online.

For those concerned about privacy, Google offers a way to obscure sensitive details. If a homeowner wishes to hide their house, yard, or car from public view, they can submit a request to Google. The process involves finding the address on Google Maps, opening the Street View, selecting "Report a problem," marking the object to be blurred, and submitting the form.

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Google cars photograph the streets every few years, including the environment around them, which is why private homes are also captured in the photos. Google automatically blurs people's faces and car license plates, but the view of private homes, yards, and details within them remains clearly visible.

Andrius Archangelskis, an expert in smart devices at "Bitė Lietuva," highlighted the prevalence of online information. He advised checking what details about one's home are publicly accessible, noting that while Google automatically blurs faces and license plates, private homes and yards remain clearly visible.

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If you want to use this option, first find your address on Google Maps and open the house view in Street View mode. Click the three dots at the top of the screen and select 'Report a problem,' mark the object you want to blur, and fill out the request form. Upon receiving the request, Google will evaluate it. If the request is approved, the image of your house or other detail will be blurred.

Archangelskis also pointed out that the imagery collected may be used to train Google's artificial intelligence models, including Gemini. He cautioned that blurring an image is permanent and that the blurred content will not be used for AI queries. Residents are encouraged to review their online presence and utilize privacy features if needed, especially given the ongoing risks of online fraud.

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The scale of fraud attempts remains high – 'Bitė' solutions block hundreds of attempts to access malicious websites, and thousands of suspicious calls and SMS messages daily.