If you are reviewing more than the Street View image, use the Google Maps privacy checklist to check account history, live sharing, public posts and shared maps separately.
Check which image you want to change
A map can show your home in several ways. Identify the image before looking for a reporting control: a street-level panorama, an overhead view and a contributed photograph have different reporting paths.23
| What you are viewing | What to do | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| Google-contributed Street View | Open that panorama and request a house blur. | The applied blur cannot be undone. |
| Another contributor’s 360 photo | Report the particular image if it violates Maps policies. | The contributor owns it; reporting is subject to review. |
| Satellite or aerial imagery | Read the overhead-imagery policy before making a request. | Google says it does not blur satellite or aerial imagery. |
| Immersive View | Check the view separately. | Google says Street View blurs do not apply to Immersive View locations. |
Google distinguishes its imagery from contributor-owned imagery through the displayed attribution. Check that attribution instead of assuming every photo in Maps belongs to Google.4 Its current Android and iPhone instructions also distinguish Street View from Immersive View; the Street View blur remains during their transition animation.56
Open your home in Street View
On a computer, search the address in Google Maps, then open the Street View photograph or drag Pegman onto available coverage. Confirm that the panorama shows the correct building.7
On Android, iPhone or iPad, search for the address or place, then tap a Street View thumbnail. You can also choose Layers → Street View and tap a blue coverage line.56
If the Street View scene itself will not open, use our help opening Street View.
Walk through the scene virtually before reporting it. An address result is a starting point; use the frontage and neighboring buildings to check your selection. For a shared building, explain which residence you mean rather than treating the entire block as your own.
If the scene is old, use our Street View dates guide to identify its capture date. A privacy report and a request for updated imagery serve different purposes.
For planned collection rather than a privacy request, see the Street View car-schedule guide.
Prepare proof of address safely
Keep the address and document date visible; redact your legal name, account numbers, payment and health details. Use PNG, JPG or PDF, under 10 MB.1
| Document | Requirement or exception |
|---|---|
| Letter, utility bill or bank statement | Shows the residence’s address; dated within six months of the request. |
| Lease | Shows the residence’s address; an older lease is acceptable. |
| Homeowners insurance or property-tax record | Listed as accepted document types. |
| Government ID or handwritten document | Do not submit it. |
| Different address or only a P.O. box | Does not meet the published criteria. |
Use a copy of a qualifying bill, redact the sensitive details, then inspect the saved copy. Keep the address and date readable and your original intact. For a PDF, finish and save the redaction using your tool’s instructions. For example, Adobe’s Acrobat Pro workflow separates marking content from Apply, optional hidden-information removal and saving the redaction.8
Google says uploaded documents are deleted from its systems after 60 days.1 Upload only what the form requests; avoid posting your proof or completed report in a public forum when asking for help.
Submit the house-blur request
- In the selected Street View image, choose Report a problem. On a phone, the Street View issue-reporting instructions use More → Report a problem.56
- Choose My home, certify your authority, upload the prepared proof and enter the residential address. Google also provides a checkbox for a residence without a formal address.1
- Inspect the image-selection area in the form. Keep the residence identifiable and describe what needs blurring. Avoid accidentally including another property.
- Complete the remaining fields and submit. Google reviews reports and may contact you for more information or a status update.2
If the control is missing on your phone, try the computer route with the same image. Google’s current house-blur page covers Android/iOS as well as computer steps.1
Before-you-submit checklist
- I am requesting a blur for my own residence as its homeowner or tenant.
- I checked the actual panorama, image attribution and selected property.
- My document matches the residence and meets the criteria above.
- I inspected the redacted copy and kept my original intact.
- I understand that an applied blur cannot be removed.
The image check is worth doing slowly. A request should describe the residence clearly enough for review without supplying unrelated personal history. If the report concerns someone else’s published photo, return to the image-type table and use the appropriate policy-reporting path.
After submitting: check the report and the image
Watch the email address you supplied for follow-up questions. Google says it will review reports as quickly as it can; its current house-blur instructions give no fixed completion deadline.1
Keep a private note of the image link, submission date and any reply. When checking the result, reopen the relevant image rather than relying on an address pin or a satellite view. If Google requests another document, check its current criteria and inspect the redacted file again.
Blurring is an image-privacy action. Changing your personal Home destination is a separate task covered in our Home-address guide; stopping live access to your device is covered in the location-sharing guide.
Why are some houses blurred on Google Maps?
Google accepts requests to blur a home and automatically obscures identifiable faces and license plates in its Street View imagery.4 A blurred house does not establish who requested it, why they did so, or anything about its current occupants. Treat the image as limited information, not evidence of wrongdoing.
A sharply defined blur and a generally fuzzy scene also call for different checks. First confirm the view and its attribution; do not assume every low-detail image is a residential privacy blur.
Can you unblur a house after buying or renting it?
Google describes an applied blur as permanent, and says a blur cannot be removed from the published photo.12 Do not submit a request expecting a later undo control. Do not count on finding an unblurred historical or future image.
Does a blur remove every picture of the home?
The policy applies to the published Street View image, including its copies. It does not establish removal from other websites or the overhead imagery described above. Google also says a newly blurred image is excluded from future generative-AI prompting, while previously created or published third-party AI imagery is unaffected.4
Sources and update note
Product information checked 12 October 2026 against Google’s current instructions and policies. Recheck the linked house-blur requirements before uploading a document. The house illustration is fictional.
Our guides used
- The Maps Guide: How to Check Google Maps Street View Dates and See Older Images.
- The Maps Guide: How to Share Live Location in Google Maps—and Stop Sharing.
Footnotes
-
Blur Street View Imagery — Google’s house-blur eligibility, request steps, address-document criteria and retention rule. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
-
Blur or remove 360 imagery and Photo Paths — Image ownership, reporting and the permanence of a published blur. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
-
Report data or content errors on Google Maps — The separate satellite/aerial-imagery policy and outdated-imagery reporting. ↩
-
Google-contributed Street View imagery policy — Attribution, automatic blurring, requests and generative-AI limits. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
-
Use Street View: Android — Street View entry controls and the Immersive View distinction. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
-
Use Street View: iPhone and iPad — Street View entry controls and the Immersive View distinction. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
-
Use Street View: computer — Opening the correct panorama. ↩
-
Redact sensitive content in PDFs — Adobe’s applied-redaction, hidden-information and saved-copy steps. ↩
