Your public Google+ images might now show in Google Maps
You absolutely still have control over your own stuff, but now's a good time to check what you've been sharing
Google recently started making some photos that you've posted publicly to Google+ visible in Google Maps
as well, as evidenced by the notification we all got in Google+. That's
not in and of itself a bad thing, nor is it an invasion of privacy. In
order for an image to appear automatically in Google Maps, it has to
meet four criteria as set by Google and enacted by you:
- A photo must be public
- A photo must have a location associated with it
- A photo must be in a public album on your Google+, with the "Show location" setting checked
- A photo must adhere to Google's content policies
So Google Maps is only getting pics that you shared publicly in
the first place, with location attached. Not evil, even if it does raise
eyebrows for at least a few seconds.
But it's also a good opportunity to remember that is absolutely
possible to post pictures to Google+ and leave the location attached
when you might otherwise not want it made public. Say, pictures taken at
home. Or from someone else's home. And while it's easy to hide
locations of photos you've posted to Google+ from website itself,
currently there's no easy way to do it from the Google+ app. (If there
is and I'm just missing it, please enlighten me.)
The good news is Google's actually made it sort-of easy to see which
pictures you've shared to Google+ have locations attached to them, as
well as which ones are now shared on Google Maps. Go to g.co/views,
then click your name. (You'll need to be logged in, obviously.) Then
use the overflow menu on the right and choose what you want to see.
Click into the individual picture, then hit the overflow menu again, and
you can mange the location sharing data.
OK, it's a few steps. And really, Google needs to make it as easy to
unshare your location as it is to share it in the first place. But this
is certainly better than nothing, and it's worth taking a few minutes to
audit what you're sharing with whom.