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List of satellite map images with missing or unclear data

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This is a list of satellite map images with missing or unclear data. Some locations on free, publicly viewable satellite map services have such issues due to having been intentionally digitally obscured or blurred for various reasons of this. For example, Westchester County, New York asked Google to blur potential terrorism targets (such as an amusement park, a beach, and parking lots) from its satellite imagery. There are situations where the censorship of certain sites was subsequently removed. For example, when Google Maps and Google Earth were launched, images of the White House and United States Capitol were blurred out; however, these sites are now uncensored.

Countries engaged with Google Maps

During talks with the Indian government, Google issued a statement saying "Google has been talking and will continue to talk to the Indian government about any security concerns it may have regarding Google Earth." Google agreed to blur images on request of the Indian government.

The Australian government has decided that images of sensitive areas are not a risk, due to poor level of detail. It was reported that in the lead-up to the APEC forum in Sydney held in September 2007 certain key locations in images of the city's central business district, where APEC leaders were meeting, might have been intentionally reduced in resolution; however, Google has indicated that the change was unrelated to APEC, while the NSW police said that they knew nothing about the change in Google's images. Images of the prime minister's official residence, The Lodge have not been blurred. However, images of its roof have been and the entrance to The Lodge is blurred in Google Street View.

The government of Malaysia has stated that it will not ask Google to censor sensitive areas because that would identify the locations it deemed to be sensitive.

List

Most military and defense facilities, along with many private homes, appear blurred in mapping services. The vast majority of Antarctica is also in low resolution due to the bright, often featureless, ice and snow making high-resolution imaging both difficult and largely unnecessary. The following is a partial list of notable known map sections that have been blurred or blanked.

Antarctica

LocationCountryDetailsLink and coordinates
AntarcticaAntarcticaSeveral large areas of Antarctica are blurred, including one over 14 mi long. Blurring is well past the normal low-resolution for most of the continent.-70.17765387.824707name=14-Mile Blur}}

Asia

LocationCountryDetailsLink and coordinates
Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat Komando Daerah Militer III SiliwangiIndonesiaOn August 8, 2024, the Satellite imagery of Indonesian military installations were censored on Google Maps. They remain visible on Apple Maps and Bing Maps
Direktorat Ajudan Jenderal Angkatan Darat
Dinas Jasmani Militer Angkatan Darat
Komando Daerah Militer IV/Diponegoro
Komando Daerah Militer Jayakarta
Pusat Zeni Angkatan Darat
Mabes TNI AD
Divisi Infanteri 1/Kostrad
Komando Daerah Militer Iskandar Muda
Komando Daerah Militer I/Bukit Barisan
Komando Daerah Militer XII/Tanjungpura
Komando Daerah Militer II/Sriwijaya
Komando Daerah Militer XIII/Merdeka
Komando Daerah Militer XIV/Hasanuddin
Komando Daerah Militer XVIII/Kasuari
Yonkav 4/Kijang Sakti
Komando Daerah Militer XVI/Pattimura
Komando Daerah Militer V/Brawijaya
Military installation on Weh IslandNarrow area of military installation covered by clouds in Google Maps.
last1=PCfirst1=Paul Escallier-Maximumtitle=Access Denied! 18 Places Google Maps Won't Let You Seeurl=https://gizmodo.com/access-denied-18-places-google-maps-wont-let-you-see-5801644work=Gizmododate=13 May 2011language=en}}North KoreaSatellite imagery is not censored, but buildings and roads are unlabeled in Google Maps.
IsraelIsraelLarge parts of the Israel have much lower resolution satellite imagery on Google Maps than other populated areas. This is a result of the Kyl–Bingaman Amendment that was dropped in 2020. Since then Google Maps has updated the Palestinian territories and parts of Israel with higher resolution satellite images.

Europe

LocationCountryDetailsLink and coordinates
url=http://www.urbanity.es/foro/edificios-en-general-mad/18735-edificio-invisible-en-madrid.htmltitle=Edificio invisible en Madridpublisher=Urbanity.esdate=5 May 2010access-date=3 July 2013}}SpainBlurred in Apple Maps and Bing Maps.http://maps.google.es/maps?ie=UTF8&t=k&ll=40.40706,-3.78772&z=16
Base Militar Punta CamorroSpainBlurred on Apple Maps and Bing Maps.
Zaragoza Air BaseSpainlast1=Rubiofirst1=Yaizalast2=Brezofirst2=Félixdate=18 June 2013title=The Over-Exposure of Geographic Information About Installations of Interest for Defence in the Networkurl=http://revista.ieee.es/article/download/717/1311/journal=Journal of the Spanish Institute of Strategic Studiespage=24access-date=12 November 2019}}https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6614831,-1.0255865,2156m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=enhttps://www.bing.com/maps?osid=9b96cb24-b938-4667-9b77-1efcad917c17&cp=41.663065~-1.028732&lvl=15&style=h&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027https://www.mapquest.com/latlng/41.6614831,-1.0255865?zoom=14&maptype=sat
Heliport in El EjidoSpainBlurred on Apple Maps and Bing Maps.
Lisbon prisonPortugalBlurred on Google Maps.
Leiria prisonPortugalBlurred on Google Maps.
Tires PrisonPortugalBlurred on Google Maps.
Lisbon Naval BasePortugalBlurred on Google Maps.
Montijo Air BasePortugalBlurred on Google Maps.
Centro De Comunicações De Dados E De Cifra Da MarinhaPortugalMilitary facility blurred on Google Maps.
NATO Communications and Information AgencyNetherlandsBlurred on Apple Maps and Bing Maps.
Ministry of Defence headquartersNetherlandsHeadquarters of the Dutch Ministry of Defence. Blurred on Bing Maps.
Noordeinde PalaceNetherlandsPalace of the Dutch royal family. Blurred on Bing Maps.
Élysée PalaceFranceResidence of the President of the French Republic. Blurred on Apple Maps, Bing Maps and Google Maps. In Google Maps the surrounding area is also not rendered in 3D like the rest of Paris.
Palais de l'AlmaFranceA national palace of the French Republic, blurred on Apple Maps, Bing Maps and Google Maps.
SatoryFranceMilitary camp, blurred on Apple Maps, Bing Maps and Google Maps.
Vélizy-Villacoublay Air BaseFranceMilitary air base, blurred on Apple Maps, Bing Maps and Google Maps.
La Santé PrisonFrancePrison in Paris, blurred on Apple Maps, Bing Maps and Google Maps.
Phare de TévennecFranceLighthouse in Brittany. Not satellite imagery available on Google Maps but visible on Apple Maps and Bing Maps.
Brest ArsenalFranceNaval base, blurred on Apple Maps, Bing Maps and Google Maps.
Marcoule Nuclear SiteFranceBlurred on Apple Maps, Bing Maps and Google Maps.
Tricastin Nuclear Power PlantFranceBlurred on Apple Maps, Bing Maps and Google Maps.
Ramstein Air BaseGermanyBlurred on Apple Maps.
BodenSwedenMilitary area around the town of Boden in Sweden. Extensively blurred on Apple Maps.
Luleå/Kallax AirportSwedenAirport in Luleå, also used for military purposes. Blurred on Apple Maps.
SwitzerlandBlurred on Apple Maps.

North America

LocationCountryDetailsLink and coordinates
14 Rue Emile SascoSt Pierre and MiquelonAdministrative Court Of Saint-Pierre And Miquelon. Specific building blurred on Apple Maps, Bing Maps, blurred more widely on Google Maps

Oceania

LocationCountryDetailsLink and coordinates
YangorNauruMultiple areas have much lower resolution imagery on Google Maps than the rest of the island.

References

References

  1. Deshpande, Rajeev. (4 February 2007). "Google Earth agrees to blur pix of key Indian sites". [[The Times of India]].
  2. (8 May 2008). "Westchester 'Blurs' Out Terror Targets On Google".
  3. Johnson, Jenna. (22 July 2007). "Google's View of D.C. Melds New and Sharp, Old and Fuzzy". Washington Post.
  4. (5 February 2007). "Google Earth prompts Indian fears". BBC News.
  5. Skatssoon, Judy. (8 August 2005). "Lucas Heights image stays on Google". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  6. Moses, Asher. (13 August 2007). "Google's photos of Sydney go all fuzzy". [[Sydney Morning Herald]].
  7. "Parliament In Brief: 'No need to blur images'".
  8. "The places you can't see on Google Earth". 9news.
  9. https://x.com/AlandManurung/status/1821885255445573724/photo/1{{Dead link. (August 2025)
  10. (13 May 2011). "Access Denied! 18 Places Google Maps Won't Let You See". Gizmodo.
  11. Giles, Christopher. (2021-05-16). "Israel-Gaza: Why is the region blurry on Google Maps?". [[BBC]].
  12. (5 May 2010). "Edificio invisible en Madrid". Urbanity.es.
  13. (18 February 2007). "Photo of Pozuelo de Alarcón – Antenas del cuartel de transmisiones". Panoramio.
  14. "Bloques Tematicos".
  15. (18 June 2013). "The Over-Exposure of Geographic Information About Installations of Interest for Defence in the Network". Journal of the Spanish Institute of Strategic Studies.
  16. (2016-12-05). "5 lugares en España que están censurados en Google Maps y por qué".
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