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  1. Software

Access Denied! 18 Places Google Maps Won't Let You See

Features
By Maximum PC Staff ( Maximum PC ) published 12 May 2011

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Google has always tried to keep a very open policy with the general public, but it can’t always be entirely forthcoming, as is the case with Google Maps . Google has very little say in what gets censored and what doesn’t, be it for personal privacy or national security. Finding censored objects on Google Maps isn’t the easiest task, as most look like imaging anomalies, rather than some big black bar with “CENSORED” written in large text.

But does Google Maps really need to be censored? In the era of open and available information, nobody likes to be left in the dark, but in the case of Google Maps and other aerial photographs, is there really much need to censor anything? Air bases and military installations certainly have the argument of national security, but they really shouldn’t have their secret projects just sitting out in the open. Perhaps just as interesting as the things being censored on Google Maps are the things that used to be censored (but that’s a whole other story).

Really like Google Maps? Learn 10 Tips and Tweaks ! Need even more? Check out the Complete Guide to 39 Google Apps and Services !

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Szazhalombatta Oil Refinery, Hungary Hungary seems to have a bit less regard for tact when it comes to censoring things. Instead of light pixelization or blurring, they just color everything green. At least it matches the surrounding area to an extent.

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Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and GE Global Research Center Years ago, KAPL and GE joined forces in the pursuit of nuclear and atomic energies. Be it to conceal government conspiracies or protect corporate assets, both facilities appear to have been blurred considerably.

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Decommissioned NATO Ammo Depot Just south of the NATO base in Oeiras is a former NATO ammunition depot. You can actually see the depot in fairly decent detail, but as soon as you zoom in too far, the entire 7 square mile region is covered by huge pixelated block.

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NATO Base Joint Command- Atlantic in Oeiras Portugal It may not look censored at first glance, but check out that white building with the multi-colored outline that has clearly been cut from the image. Then try zooming in a bit closer to find a super pixelated giant block covering the entire base.

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Maximum PC Staff
Read more
OpenAI logo displayed on a phone screen and ChatGPT website displayed on a laptop screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on December 5, 2022.
There's no need to overshare on social media now that OpenAI's new chatbots can pinpoint your location from the tiniest details in images
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A portrait of a woman from the waist up, with arms crossed, whose face has been rendered unrecognizable by being pixelated. A conceptual representation of individual identity protection or harassment. Square crop with copy space on a clean off-white background.
Turns out a bit of pixelation won't cover your back (or front) as it's actually very easy to de-censor videos
Participants of the Geoguessr World Cup are pictured prior to the start of the championship on October 14, 2023 in Stockholm. The world's best gamers who can identify a location anywhere in the world after seeing an image in less than a second face off Saturday in a world championship in Stockholm. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)
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A shocked man sees something NSFW on his phone.
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