Monday, January 24, 2005

In case you don't know ...

Google has implemented a new feature wherein you can
type someone's telephone number into the search bar
and hit enter and then you will be given a map to
their house. Everyone should be aware of this!
Note that you can have your phone number removed or
blocked. Before forwarding this, I tested it by
typing my telephone number in google.com. My phone
number came up, and when I clicked on the MapQuest
link, it actually mapped out where I live. Quite
scary. Please look up your own number. Read below
for details. Think about it--if a child, ANYONE
gives out his/her phone number, someone can actually
now look it up to find out where he/she lives. The
safety issues are obvious, and alarming. In order
to test whether your phone number is mapped, go to:
http://www.google.com/ Type your phone number in the search bar (i.e.
555-555-1212) and hit enter. If you want to BLOCK
Google from divulging your private information,
simply click on the telephone icon next to your
phone number. Removal takes 48-hours. If you are
unlisted in the phone book, you might not be in
there, but it is a good idea just to check. If your
number does come up if you hit map, it will show you
a direct map to your house...

2 comments:

Scott W said...

Thanks for the heads up! I tried clicking the phone icon but nothing happened, then I clicked on the blue 'phonebook results for 713-___-____' and this took me to the page where I could remove it.

Mikey said...

Woah. I remember getting an email this a long time ago but assumed it was a hoax when my own number yielded no hits. I just posted on it at Citizen Z(linked you)and sent an email to Ann Althouse (a blogger several steps up the food chain) to find out if she knew about it. Snopes says the directory has been in place for years - I can't believe a bigger stink hasn't been made about this. Thanks for the info!

http://citizenz.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2005/1/26/285528.html