Latest news with #GOOGLEMAPS
The Irish Sun
25-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Man wins £9,000 from Google after being snapped NAKED in his garden by Street View car
A BLOKE caught starkers in his garden by a Google Street View car for all to see on the internet has won more than £9,000 in compensation. The man's bare backside was pictured by the tech giant's cameras as it shot routes around a small town in Argentina. 2 The man's backside was pictured and visible on Google Street View Credit: Getty 2 The incident went viral on social media in 2017 Credit: Getty He claimed that he was stood behind a two metre wall when the embarrassing incident took place back in 2017. His bum was exposed for all to see on the platform, and the story was eventually covered by local Argentine TV as well as being shared widely on social media. The individual - who is a policeman - sought payment from Google for harm to his dignity. Last year, a court dismissed the claim for damages, ruling he only had himself to blame for "walking around in inappropriate conditions in the garden of his home". Read more on Google Maps Google claimed the perimeter wall was not high enough. However, appeals judges have decided the man's dignity was indeed violated. They ordered Google to pay him £9,300 / $12,500. "This involves an image of a person that was not captured in a public space but within the confines of their home, behind a fence taller than the average-sized person. The invasion of privacy... is blatant," they wrote. Most read in Tech The judges said "there is no doubt that in this case there was an arbitrary intrusion into another's life." They also concluded that there was "no justification for (Google) to evade responsibility for this serious error that involved an intrusion into the plaintiff's house, within his private domain, undermining his dignity. Shocking Google Street View pic 'showing body loaded into boot' leads to murder arrest after cops find butchered remains "No one wants to appear exposed to the world as the day they were born." Google has had a number of nude mishaps over the years, though many appear to be They are eventually blurred out once detected. The firm also blurs out faces, as well as car licence plates. People can also blur out themselves, their house or a vehicle by submitting a request on Google's website. The judges pointed to But in this case, "it was not his face that was visible but his entire naked body, an image that should also have been prevented." The court absolved co-accused telecoms company Cablevision SA and news site El Censor of liability for the image spreading, saying their actions had "helped highlight the misstep committed by Google." GOOGLE MAPS TRICK You can use augmented reality (AR) to explore the streets on Google Maps too. When looking up directions, users can select an augmented reality (AR) version of Live View. This means the app that not only gives you directions, but scans the surrounding area to offer users more details about the places they pass. This feature even highlights ATMs, and other pitstops in real time. Image credit: Getty
The Irish Sun
09-06-2025
- The Irish Sun
Three Instagram settings that could EXPOSE your cheating partner and the Google Maps clue they don't want anyone to find
SMARTPHONES hold a treasure trove of data that cheating partners will do everything in their power to keep hidden. I should know, as I caught an ex messaging other guys through a series of sneaky app protections despite his best attempts to keep it all a secret. 2 Instagram settings expose every like and comment made Credit: Jamie Harris / The Sun 2 I saw a load of telling signs on my ex-partner's own Instagram Credit: Getty Of all the digital spaces that fed into my concerns during that time, Instagram was high up there. I saw too many people liking my partners photos and overly flirty comments written on them too. It did make me wonder, is my partner doing the same on other people's profiles? There are a number of hidden settings on Instagram that can reveal all that and more. However, raiding through a partner's phone is a breach of trust and technically it's illegal too. Instagram activity On the settings page there's an activity option which can show all the likes and comments from an account. Tap each and a full lowdown appears, starting from the most recent. There are even toggles to set date range, so people can go back to specific dates. And a Filter by Author drop down shows every single like the account has made for that individual's account too. SECRETS BEHIND THE HIDDEN CALCULATOR APP By Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor After a number of suspicious incidents I did some digging on my partner's iPhone a few years ago, despite the risk. It's not something I'm proud of but sometimes you have to trust your gut. I had heard that some dating apps allow you to disguise the icon as a calculator. What a genius idea - no one would think to tap on an innocent, boring calculator icon. So, I took the plunge and sure enough there was a fake calculator which opened up a dizzying number of saucy messages and unspeakable pics. Read more here. Hidden photo tags Photo tagging is another forgotten feature love rats need to careful of. Cheats that want to keep quiet about an outing they shouldn't be doing won't approve photo tags. And some people simply don't know that this feature even exists. Under the tag requests option, there's all the photos that have been left unapproved for tagging onto the user's profile page. This is found under the tags option from the menu, followed by pending tags to see. Elsewhere, anything that's been searched in the main search bar is visible too. All anyone has to do is tap the Recent Searches button. GOOGLE MAPS LOCATIONS EXPOSED Who doesn't use Google Maps to get around? There's a Timeline feature that remembers all the locations you've entered - unless you delete them. Anyone with access to your phone can even navigate through it by day to check specific dates. It's all on the You tab at the bottom of the Google Maps app. Under Timeline, anyone can explore through the dates. Image credit: Getty
Straits Times
18-05-2025
- Straits Times
Why Google Maps is still broken in South Korea: It might not be about national security anymore
The global map giant has repeatedly asked the Korean government for permission to export the NGII base map. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS Why Google Maps is still broken in South Korea: It might not be about national security anymore It's 2025, and if you try to get walking directions in Seoul using Google Maps, you will still run into the same dead end: the 'Can't find a way there' screen. For many tourists, it's both frustrating and baffling. Google Maps offers turn-by-turn walking directions in cities as far-flung as Pyongyang, the capital of the hermit kingdom of North Korea — yet, in Seoul, one of the most digitally advanced cities in the world, it can't guide you from your hotel to the nearest subway station? For almost two decades, the issue has been blamed on national security. South Korea has strict laws that block the export of high-precision map data, supposedly to prevent misuse by hostile actors. But in 2025, that argument is wearing thin, and a more fundamental tension is coming into focus: Should Google be allowed to freely commercialize taxpayer-funded public data without meeting the standards that domestic companies must follow? Google says it needs Korea's best map. But that's only half the story. The map at the center of this issue is a government-built, high-resolution 1:5000 digital base map maintained by the National Geographic Information Institute. It's publicly funded, annually updated, and rich with layers like sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and road boundaries. Any Korean citizen or entity can access and use it for free. Google Maps in South Korea does not provide walking directions (left), and while it offers public transit routes with real-time updates, the walking segments are shown only as vague dotted lines (right). PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS Google claims that without exporting this data to its global servers, it cannot fully enable core features like walking, biking or driving navigation. The global map giant, which relies on processing map data through its global infrastructure, has repeatedly asked the Korean government for permission to export the NGII base map. Its latest request, filed in February this year, is the third since the issue first surfaced in 2007 and again in 2016. A final decision from the government is expected this August. Screenshots from South Korea's National Geographic Information Institute show the publicly available 1:25,000-scale map (left) and the more detailed 1:5,000-scale map (right). PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION INSTITUTE But experts say Google's 'we can't do it without the map' argument is overstated. 'Yes, the 1:5,000 map would help, especially for pinpointing pedestrian pathways,' said Choi Jin-moo, a geographic information science professor at Kyung Hee University. 'But Google could build the necessary layers on its own, using its vast trove of satellite imagery and AI processing, just like it does in countries that don't share any base map data at all.' The evidence is all around. OpenStreetMap, a crowdsourced platform, offers walking navigation in South Korea. So does Apple Maps, despite not having access to NGII's dataset or exporting any official Korean geospatial data. Google already provides walking directions in places like Pyongyang, where mapping data is sparse, and in countries like Israel and China, which impose strict restrictions on geospatial exports. 'If Google can make it work in North Korea,' Choi said, 'then clearly the map is not the only barrier.' Google Maps offers full walking (left) and driving (right) directions in Pyongyang, North Korea. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS In other words, what Google gains by accessing the NGII map might not be feasibility, but convenience. 'Rather than spending time and money building its own map layer, it would get a ready-made foundation that is free, publicly funded, and immediately monetizable through ads and API licensing,' Choi added. South Korea's national security argument is crumbling South Korea's longstanding concern is that exporting detailed mapping data could expose key infrastructure to hostile threats, particularly from North Korea. But experts argue that in 2025, this reasoning no longer holds up to scrutiny. 'You can already buy sub-meter commercial satellite imagery of South Korea from private providers,' said Choi Ki-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University. In its latest proposal, Google offered to blur sensitive sites if the government supplies coordinates. But even that sparked legal concerns. Under Korea's military laws, simply compiling a list of protected locations could be a violation. The real issue, Choi believes, is the symbolic discomfort of ceding data sovereignty to a global tech platform. 'There's a psychological reluctance to let any part of our national digital infrastructure sit on foreign servers,' he said. 'But we need to be honest about the threat level.' 'This is primarily about control, not national security or technical capability,' said professor Yoo Ki-yoon, a smart city infrastructure expert at Seoul National University. 'Google wants to integrate Korea into its global system on its terms, without storing data locally, without paying Korean taxes at the level domestic firms do, and without meaningful oversight.' Who really stands to gain or lose? The economic stakes are just as complex as the technical ones. South Korea's location-based services market is worth over 11 trillion won ($7.6 billion) according to 2023 Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport data, with over 99 percent of companies in the space being small or mid-sized. These firms rely on the same public mapping data Google wants, but they do so under heavy conditions. They must store the data domestically, pay full local taxes, and invest in additional surveying and development. Giving Google free access, critics warn, could reshape the market in its favor. Developers might rush to build on Google's API, only to find themselves locked into a system where prices spike later, just as they did in 2018 when Google restructured its Maps API pricing globally. 'There's a risk of long-term dependency,' said Ryo Seol-ri, a researcher at the Korea Tourism Organization. 'Right now, Korean platforms like Naver and Kakao have limitations, but at least they're governed by Korean rules. If Google becomes the dominant layer, we lose that control.' Despite launching a multilingual version back in 2018, Naver Map only began expanding foreign-language support for place filters and business info like opening hours and amenities in October. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM NAVER MAP Still, Ryo admits the issue is far from urgent for most stakeholders. 'From a tourism perspective, this isn't what drives people to or from Korea. Visitors are definitely inconvenienced, but they expect to be. It's baked into the experience now.' That may be the most important reason the situation hasn't changed, and likely won't any time soon. There's no single player with the incentive to fix it. The Korean government doesn't want to set a precedent by giving up control of its mapping infrastructure. Google doesn't want to build from scratch if it can pressure its way into a shortcut. And while tourists may grumble, broken Google Maps hasn't kept them from coming. Tourism professor Kim Nam-jo of Hanyang University said, 'Improving map usability would make Korea more tourist-friendly, sure, but it won't suddenly boost visitor numbers. That's why no one sees it as urgent enough to fix.' THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Scottish Sun
27-04-2025
- Scottish Sun
From sinister ‘Island of Dolls' to ghostly outcrop in popular tourist hotspot – creepiest isles on Google Maps revealed
The forbidden island of Brazil's Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, is one only scientists and soldiers can visit SPOOKED From sinister 'Island of Dolls' to ghostly outcrop in popular tourist hotspot – creepiest isles on Google Maps revealed Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ISLANDS aren't all just sun, sea and sand. There's some creepy outcrops lurking around the world - and some you can only visit on Google Maps. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 The Island of the Dolls, or La Isla de las Munecas as it's known locally, is located in the Xochimilco canals south of Mexico City Credit: Alamy 7 According to Guinness World Records, it is home to the world's largest collection of 'haunted' dolls The Island of the Dolls in Mexico The Island of the Dolls, or La Isla de las Munecas as it's known locally, is located in the Xochimilco canals south of Mexico City. The artificial island houses a few small huts, which are outnumbered by thousands of decaying dolls. According to Guinness World Records, it is home to the world's largest collection of 'haunted' dolls. It is said that the caretaker of the island, Don Julian, began building the collection after attempting to save a girl who drowned nearby. READ MORE ON GOOGLE MAPS SEA POWER China's secret sub fleet snapped by GOOGLE MAPS with 6 nuke boats massed at base In an attempt to ward off her spirit, Julian hung dolls from the trees. Soon enough, he became something of a local legend, and people began bringing more dolls to add to the collection. Google Maps coordinates: 19.2902° N, 99.0965° W 7 The Ghost Island of Venice has been home to a number of hospitals over the years, which now lay abandoned Credit: True British Metal Ghost Island in Venice The Ghost Island of Venice, known officially as Poveglia Island, has been largely uninhabited since the 1300s. Since then, the island has been the site of several hospitals, which may have contributed to the island's reputation. For over a century, the spit of land was used as a quarantine for those suffering with the plague and other diseases. Today, it is mostly home to some abandoned buildings, which has helped earn its name as one of the most haunted spots in Italy. Poveglia Island is not open to the public, although special permits are occasionally granted. Google Maps coordinates: 45°22′55″N 12°19′52″E 7 Queimada Grande island is also known as snake island Credit: Alamy 7 The location is famous for its abundance of venomous snakes - the Golden lancehead Credit: Alamy Snake Island in Brazil The forbidden island of Brazil's Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, is one only scientists and soldiers can visit. The location is famous for its abundance of venomous snakes - and no ordinary snakes at that. The golden lancehead, which call this island home, is a species of pit viper found nowhere else in the world. Experts believe the species was cut off from the mainland 11,000 years ago, and has been evolving in isolation ever since. Google Maps coordinates: 24°29′10″S 46°40′30″W 7 The Hashima coal mine on Battleship Island, photographed in April 2015 Credit: Alamy Hashima Island in Japan The abandoned Hashima Island, otherwise known as "Gunkanjima" or "Battleship Island", served as a critical wartime coal mine from the time it was purchased by Mitsubishi in 1890. Under gruelling conditions, Korean and Chinese prisoners were forced to build towering concrete towers on the island beginning in 1916, in which workers would eventually live. Up to 1,300 conscripted labourers died on Hashima due to underground accidents, exhaustion, and malnutrition. After the war, its population spiked to an astonishing 5,300 people who were crammed into the 480-metre-by-160-metre accommodation. At its peak, the island was a hub of national coal mining, along with a hospital, schools, shops, and even a temple and a shrine. But the mines were eventually closed in 1974, leaving Hashima abandoned for 40 years to be reclaimed by nature. Google Maps coordinates: 32°48'30.59"N 129°49'30.10"E
