How to blur your house on Apple Maps — and why you should do it right now

Protecting your personal data usually means tweaking phone settings and managing passwords, but keeping nosy eyes off your doorstep requires a different kind of cleanup. Apple Maps makes it surprisingly easy for anyone to scout out your neighborhood and view your home down to the window frames.Leaving high-resolution imagery of your property online gives potential burglars, nosey neighbors, and strangers a clear view of your entry points, security setup, and personal belongings.Provided Apple's Look Around feature covers your area, scrubbing your residence off the map in Apple Maps is pretty straightforward. Here's how to check if your location is eligible and blur your home, plus what to do if you need an alternative method. Locate your home Search for your address in Apple Maps and look for the binoculars icon on the location card or map. Tap it to enter the street-level view.If you don’t see the binoculars icon, Apple’s Look Around imagery isn’t available for your area yet — which means your home isn't visible on street view anyway. Desktop users can launch full-screen mode by clicking the photo preview at the bottom left of the display.With the street view image of your property visible, swipe up from the bottom of your screen to bring up the menu options and scroll down to select Report an Issue.If you're on a Mac or desktop browser, click the three-dot menu icon in the top corner to find the same option. Flag your privacy concern In the report window, you will see a preview of the stored imagery alongside category options. Tap Privacy Concerns. From there, choose Obscure imagery of my home. If you only want to hide a car, you can choose Obscure personal information instead. Double-check that the street address matches your residence and enter your primary email address. If you are signed into your Apple ID, this will auto-populate and save a receipt directly to your account history. Then hit submit.Unlike instant automated toggles, Apple manually processes property removal requests. Check your inbox over the following days — Apple will send a follow-up email requesting verification or proof of homeownership to finalize the blur. Once confirmed, you will receive a final email notification confirming your property has been obscured. How to request a blur via emailYou can also request a property blur directly by emailing mapsimagecollection@apple.com. Be sure to include your full name, the exact address, and a description or screenshot of your property from Apple Maps.This email route is a handy alternative if the in-app reporting feature isn't working for you or if you are submitting the request from a non-Apple device. (Image credit: Future)Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!More from Tom's Guide How to remove your home address from the internet — 6 ways to protect your privacyCheck your iPhone right now: 3 privacy settings you need to change immediatelyiOS 27 has a hidden anti-scam setting — here’s why every iPhone user should turn it onSign up to the Tom's iGuide weekly newsletter with coverage on everything from product launches to software updates, this is your go-to source for the latest updates on all the best Apple content.