Google Street View Service : 8 Intriguing Things To Know

Google's Street View online service officially debuted in the UK on Wednesday and has already attracted its fair share of controversy and press coverage within a few hours.

The feature, which is part of Google Maps and Google Earth, allows users to have an almost complete spherical panoramic street level views of a number of locations worldwide. Here are 10 things you should know about Google's latest uber cool service.

(1) Google Street View Has Almost "Killed" Before

Back in Julyu 2008, a GSV camera car hit a baby deer but did not killed it. The animal apparently left the spot before police arrived. The pictures have since been removed from Google and at that time, showed that Google did not actually vet each and every Street View photo. 

(2) Google Street View Only Covers Day Time

Some of the most magnificent city shots are taken at night. But GSV only cover day time photos probably because (a) night shots are more tricky to take (b) this would involve double the cost (c) people don't really care. Still, it would have been quite a spectacle to see how Oxford Circus or the Eiffel Tower looks by night.

(3) You Can Actively Protect Your Privacy

GSV provides with a "report a concern" link where you can either flag content as being "inappropriate" or violating your privacy. Because certain aspects of GSV are automated, there has been several instances where car number plates or people's faces have not been blurred out. In addition, users can ask for photos of "of themselves, their children, their cars or their houses" to be completely removed from GSV.