Netizens divided over Google Street View, citing it as 'invasion of privacy'

Netizens in the country are divided over Google Street View, days after the tech giant announced that 90 per cent of the scenery found along peninsula Malaysia’s public roads and highways are dotted by the Google Maps feature.

It is an invasion of privacy, said concerned Netizens, as images of their homes becoming a ‘public domain’ of sorts linger, thanks to the advanced technology which allows imagery in Malaysia accessible at the click of a finger.

“It’s an open opportunity for robbers to enter your house,” said a Nazron Amir Mohd Naser.

A Sham Sharif said, ‘it’ll make the robbers’ jobs easier by encouraging them to type the address of a residence and they get their target residences."

Sham said he was shocked to see an image of his late father upon searching for his house on Google Street View recently.

“I randomly did a Google search of our house in Ipoh and shocked to see an image of my father closing the mosque’s gate. The image was captured last year. Our father passed away August of this year,” he shared on Facebook.

A Nik Soh Che Man said the public should take precautionary measures to prevent people from misusing the technology.

Those who are more familiar with the feature said privacy should not be a major concern as the images are not real time – taking into consideration faces of individuals as well as their cars’ registration numbers are blurred by the operators.

“The images are not ‘live’. If it’s ‘live’ there should already be a camera in front of your house,” wrote a Mazrul Hisyam.

Awie Pcd highlighted a question: “privacy? You already built your house by the roadside, what privacy do you want? It’s not like they snap photos from the inside of your house.”

“Google Street View has been in development for the last seven years. Advanced countries allow 100 per cent of Google Street View coverage. Until now, there are no serious reports on the abuse of this application.

Even though privacy is of a grave concern for a Khairul Maryana Tales, “it is also important for Netizens to know how to protect their privacy, not just on Google Street View but also on other social websites.

As the issue of ‘privacy’ takes the limelight, some even argue that privacy is a thing of yesteryear since public started using social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to share photos and even locations.

“If you feel insecure, don’t share any personal information publicly on your social media networks. If you post photos from your shopping spree at expensive boutiques, holding the steering of an expensive car, body full of jewelery... robbers will go after you,” said Syakirah Sapie.

Firdaus Ahmad Murad shares Syakirah’s sentiment.

“I agreed with this one. To those who like to check-in their locations, stop it. We do not know who follows our tweets and posts,” replied Firdaus Ahmad Murad.

Several users said Google Street View has its advantages too.

“I get to explore the world (and Malaysia too) without ever leaving my comfortable chair at home,” said Mike Azfar Syukri.

Haryati Mohd Ehsan said Google Street View has helped her during her preparation to study abroad.

“Street View in Malaysia can also be the window to the world and to those who do not know about Malaysia or otherwise. I agreed with Street View 100 percent,” said Haryati.

On Tuesday, Google Malaysia announced that it has added more locations to the Google Street View imagery in Malaysia after its Street Views cars roamed around peninsular Malaysia last year.

For off-road sites, the images were captured by the Street View Trekker, a wearable back-mounted camera system.

Google Malaysia Managing Director Sajith Sivanandan said Google Street View allows users to discover new places.

“We are pleased to be able to share these new panoramic imagery of Malaysiaon Google Maps and we hope people around the world will find them useful and enjoyable too,” he said.

Google Malaysia is expanding its Google Street View imagery to Sabah and Sarawak, which is still in planning stage.

Google goes to great lengths to safeguard privacy on Google Maps.

Sivanandran added that Google has developed highly sophisticated technology that effectively blurs human faces and license plates.

The company is also very responsive to any requests from users to enhance the blurring of any images that feature them.

What are your thoughts on Google Street View: