This is not big brother. It is not a problem. If there's a picture of you picking your nose or worse then maybe you shouldn't pick your nose in public!

Ian, blackburn, lancs

Hmmm......big question.....some snaps.... some public places....why r u concerned? Photos of a cat or photos of people are usually seen at calendars that gets sold for some bucks......nobody question the privacy of the people when someone posts photos of golden gate bridge in picasa/flickr along with people walking on it......these are also viewable in public....nobody raises any question of privacy when paparazzi photographs hollywood celebs and posts them in media, media publishes in page 20 and people have a curious look at that...google streetview is an important tool if I am planning a LA/NY trip...why would somebody be in a compromising situation in a public place when they are really concerned about their privacy?

just_another_idea, San Francisco, CA

Its funny to see all the supporters, most are from places that are not on the maps. Just wait untl your family and friends are smattered all over the web with degrading and defaming comments. If someone were to come to your house, set up a tripod in front and take pictures I am sure you would want to know what the heck is going on. If you were told "oh, were just going to put the on the web for the world to see, and by the way "Smile!" I am sure you would have a big problem with it. I urge local opposition to write their congressmen.

Citizen, Bay Area, California

Privacy is a concern... but i love it!

I found a site with lots of Street View links.

http://topstreetviews.com/

Byron, roisten, Miz

The photos might be old, the postings might be removable, but it's still intrusive. The burden should never be on the private citizen to remove photographs of their children or their daily lives from the public forum. This is irresponsible and google should listen up. Boycott.

fran, washington, dc

Google should be renamed into Ogling''.
Of course there is a difference between a scene in a public place seen by one or a few persons vs by (potentially) the whole world.
I was a Google fan (vs Microsoft), but I am beginning to believe MS has a few more scruples (though not many) left that Google, at least in the privacy area.
Why don't we start videoing the Google founders and their families continuously (in public places only of course) and put this on the web?
Maybe then they would finally begin to understand what they are doing.

John, london, UK

We're not talking live pictures here, just what was viewable from the road at one particular instant. but still very useful to get an idea as to the locale if planning a trip.

Gwyn Evans, Lydney, UK

I thought Google was one of the big corporate sponsors of the Democratic Party in the U.S.A

Surely the Dems. couldn't support this latest invasion of privacy or do ethics disappear in favour of donations?

grant watt, Glenning Valley, australia

I don't see any justification for this kind of "entertainment",the ACLU should intervene,and sue Google to stop this infringement on individuals right to privacy.I wonder if there is a lawyer, somewhere ,pondering the idea of challenging Google in court over this.

Sam, Dallas, USA

Looks like there's another big brother in our lives and it won't be surprising if all the data they are collecting is going to the one entity that's been desperately trying to do something like this - the goverment. Given Google's past complicity with the government agencies, this could be just another way of getting their work done using the brand image of a successful "public" company. I think the time for a "Google boycott" has come and all sensible folks should join the effort rather than wait until it is too late! Open your eyes and realise that everything Goolge does need not to be "good". Their actions are guided by monetary gains and lately they've been bordering on the dangerous. I hope our efforts are not too late to stop an Orweillian society!

Ajith J, Cambridge,

this is crazy.

luis valles, alburquerque, new mexico

I've lived here my whole life, and I can honestly say I've probably appeared in hundreds of strangers' photographs. I think it's a little crazy to worry about being snapped in public, but if people can look right into apartment windows, we've got ourselves a problem.

Paul, Niagara Falls, Canada

4. A girl bending over, and two guys watching her...
5. Ambulance driver stops for a sandwich

How entertaining...

Can't wait for "guy reads newspaper in garden" and "truck driver with hands on steering wheel"

Ronnie, Paris,

Freedom is already more of an illusion than you realize but at the same time quit worrying about who's watching and get on with LIVING !!

Christine, Louisville KY, USA

So if I go on vacation and I take pictures of me standing next to Niagara Falls and someone else ends up in the picture and I post them on my website, is that an invasion of privacy? No!! Geez.. By the time anybody figures out who that person is, they will have been long gone. I think it is kinda neat. If you are on a public street it is just that PUBLIC. If you are so worried about being busted then don't be in the PUBLIC in the first place.

Patricia, Sarasota , FL

What's so scary about this? This is nothing more than what you would see if you drove down these streets yourself. There's no invasion of privacy since all these pictures were taken from public streets.

Privacy is over rated. If I want to do something in private I can just shut my curtains. Get over it you guppies.

Scott Hodgins, Sudbury, Ontario

Oh, please... going on vacation? These images are not going to be updated all that often. They are already oId when they are posted. They are no where near real time. This is really just a bunch of media hype, it will be usefull when goring to an unfamiliar area .

Joe, South Bend,

Public streets aren't private places, and therefore you can have no expectation of privacy. Anyone who expects any privacy in a public space is grandly deluded.

Geren W. Mortensen, Jr., Columbia, Maryland

What is it with Google? They seem hellbent on destroying any kind of privacy we have. Is Google owned by the US government? These actions are reckless, innapropriate and just plain wrong. Not to mention annoyingly unintersting.

Jennifer Hynes, Plymouth, England

It is amazing to me how many are so ready to give up privacy for the sake of technology or in the name of national security. Wake up people, democracy is dying and none of you give a dam.

If you think having camera's watching your every move is living in a free society I have news for you, Big Brother will be watching and you are soon going to find "freedom" is an illusion.

T, Vancouver, Canad

I find it kind of exciting that millions of ppl around the world will see me making love to my fiance in the back garden.

Fred Denver, Malibu, California

It is wrong for google to take street views in any small town or anywhere that people reside . Privacy issues are of utmost concern. What happens when google view shows people leaving home on vacation or leaving work? The dangers far out- weigh the benefits to business. This is a horrible invasion of privacy and poses great danger to the population as a whole.

Crystal , benicia,

I thought it was mapping software! That would be great for anyone who needs it. But why must someone be able to see faces and address numbers? That would be rediculous; however, such a function in a separate module available to the police would be better than the security cameras that ALMOST show the suspect of a crime such as assault, kidnapping, etc.

Guy Peterson, Phoenix, Arizona

It always cracks me up that the people who are concerned about privacy point out the illegal or immoral acts that people do.

"Someone is going to get hurt, lose their job or their marriage because of this product and what will Google say?"

If the government, or Google wants to watch what I do or tap my phone, go ahead... Plan to be bored.

tbock, Denver, CO

Talk about "Big Brother"...take a look at this service now available in Google Maps.

Amir Bendayan, Miami, FL