This follows a similar announcement made in January 2025, when the company revealed that specially equipped vehicles with the distinctive “Google Street View” branding would travel to selected locations in Greece to collect new mapping data.
According to the latest statement, the mapping program covers Attica, Crete, Epirus, Western Macedonia, Macedonia and Thrace, the Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian Islands, the Aegean, Thessaly, and Central Greece. It is one of the most extensive surveys conducted in recent years, aiming to update the data displayed on maps and accurately capture the current state of roads, settlements, and areas of interest.
The company clarifies that, before any material is published online, automated privacy protection processes are applied. Pedestrians’ faces and vehicle license plates are blurred to prevent the identification of individuals or license numbers. This blurring is a key stage in the processing and occurs prior to the publication of each mapped area.
Additionally, citizens can request intervention if blurring is incomplete or insufficient. The data subject—or any third party—can flag images where a face or license plate has not been adequately blurred. Furthermore, it is possible to request blurring of a residence’s façade if the owner or occupant desires.
Google also emphasizes that if the data have not yet been blurred, the data subject retains the right to object and can request their removal in accordance with applicable Greek and European personal data protection laws. Based on this procedure, the material is either blurred or completely deleted, depending on the request and circumstances.
The right to object can be exercised even before the mapped area is published online, unless the data have already been blurred. When blurring is requested, it is completed within five days from the start of the service, or, if requested later, within five days from submission.
Finally, the company stresses that the original mapping data are not shared with third parties. Collection, processing, and management of the material follow strict rules until publication on digital maps. This process is part of Google’s overall international policy of transparency and personal data protection in its mapping services.
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