May 25 is the day the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) started to be applied in Europe. But May 25 is also the launch date of the Street View project. Google’s service celebrates its fifteenth anniversary in 2022. The opportunity to come back to the evolution of the tool, which has progressed so much and which is sometimes still too underestimated.
The opportunity, also, to highlight some aspects of the service that are not necessarily well identified. Because if the tool is already very practical to visualize in 360° the public road and to move there at leisure – which can be very practical to locate a place in advance, so as not to be mistaken once there –, there are other ways to take advantage of the platform.
Visit atypical places on Street View
Have you ever visited your neighborhood on Street View up and down and across? Have you seen New York, Tokyo, the pyramids of Egypt, the Burj Khalifa? Know that there are also more unexpected places that you can visit virtually. This is the case of the International Space Station, the garage in which Google was born, the seabed, the Amazon, Fukushima or even Disneyland.
Display Street View and Maps at the same time
The mobile application of Google Maps contains a very practical option, but too little known: the dual display Maps and Street View. It divides the screen into two parts, one for each service. This can greatly help you find your way around in your virtual wanderings, with a view at eye level (Street View) and an overhead view (Maps).
Blur your face or your house on Street View
Google uses detection algorithms to automatically mask people’s faces and license plates. In general, the tool works well. But it can sometimes fail. Fortunately, it is possible to request the blurring of your home on Street View on a case-by-case basis, for reasons of confidentiality and privacy.
Enjoy Google Earth VR with Street View
If you have a VR headset and are still using it, you can explore Street View as a kind of virtual reality simulation, which adapts to the orientation of your head, as if you were there. It is possible to use it with the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, but also with more affordable solutions, such as cardboard.
Play on Street View with Geoguessr
Do you remember the lockdowns? And skype? To pass the time with loved ones who could no longer be seen, a few video games stood out at the time. Among them, Geoguessr. The principle ? Try to guess where in the world you are. And for that, you have to virtually navigate Street View. We love.
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