I need to know....
 

Can anybody explain to my why a lot of people "blur" out their license plates when they post pictures? What are we trying to prevent?....I need to know!:confused:

I'm pretty sure if you have contacts in the right places, you can find out address details etc of the registered owners... As they say, knowledge is power, this could be used by a thief, or your insurance company.

So do you block your plate while driving around? You may have a felon right behind you...

Not too worried....
http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/a...psbpa8uf40.jpg

Hopefully I'll notice if they follow me home ;)

......but there are many possible ways this information is used..... Insurance companies monitor these sites and collect data.... Ever posted about a dodgy mod that might void your policy?

Why dont you post youry home address in your signature? And why have I run out of aluminium foil???? ;)

For those that have modded their cars, its to keep felons from having a nice inventory of your "Special" stuff.

For Auto-X racers its to prevent the insurance companies from denying a claim or jacking up your rates.

For those that want to sell their car eventually its to prevent buyers from discovering "Issues" that may effect the selling price.

For some its to prevent ending up on some advertising campaign spammers list.
Some of those data collection bots would surprise you, not just for traffic violations. https://www.aclu.org/alpr

For the rest I figure its to prevent stalkers in case you get into a tussle of words with someone online and they go postal.

The Jerk (7/10) Movie CLIP - He Hates These Cans! (1979) HD - YouTube
:D

Google your plate and see what it turns up.

I think the reason is simple: paranoia :rolleyes:! I Googled my plate and got zero, nada, zilch.

here in the UK i do it because of what are called 'ringer' cars. With a reg plate splattered all over the interweb, it prevents some a-hole putting your reg on a stolen car. they can even get your vin number from the reg plate and put that on stolen car.

it does happen and often.

Mastermind of £1.2m car ringing scam jailed - Telegraph

Bruce Wayne,
If I had a co-pilot as hot as yours in your avatar, I would definitely blur my plate to keep my identity secure! I'd be more concerned about her than my car! Here's to you!:cheers:

I figure that Google and Steve Jobs must know something the rest of us don't.

Google blurs all license plates in Street View.

Jobs is said to have bought a new car every month so he would always be driving on temporary dealer tags.

Well it was zero, nada, zilch... until now!

I just googled your plate too and they'v been apparently very busy since. In fact, they've now linked your plate to your gmail/g+ accounts, your home address, employer, all your web browsing history since Al Gore invented the internet, every traffic camera within 250miles, your pintrest account and finally with Mrs. Joe B. Oh yeah and your 2nd Tuesday of every month, "Miss April".

:D

+1



I photograph cars a lot at the track. Have had people ask me to blur their plate out.. um, no thanks - you want it blurred? take it off or cover it up - I'm not spending hours editing plates lol..

Ummmm, Steve Jobs ????

Where have you been, bro??

hmmm, what's less work ... taking plate off, or accidentally breaking guys camera ...

You got the ads to find out everything about you for $1.99 though right?

For $2.99 I can even find out what brand of condoms you use with Miss April.:p

Now I'm paranoid :D! I know you're kidding because Miss April doesn't make me use a condom! I got a better offer than jb92563 did; only $1.00.

Davev's comment makes sense. It would be a lot easier to get people's license plate numbers by seeing their cars out on the road, than by getting them from pictures on the internet.

LOL try it pal.

Try blurring out your plate and then have a cop drive behind you. Wonder what would happen. IMO i think it's silly. Anyone driving behind me can see it. Now if you can see mymCC number and somehow see the 3 digit security code on the back, then I'd be worried!

I don't personally care, as I pull my plate at the track (gotta put the rear tow hook in). but I was taught to show some care and consideration with cameras at the track. and if you are going around, consciously taking pics of guys cars and licence plates and posting them online, and then laughing them off when they ask you to obscure the plate, you're certainly not going to be making any friends.

Yes I am one of those who somehow follows the group and blur his car plates. Don't ask me why I do it, seriously I have no specific reason to do so. Might have to do with the plate's numbers size, typeface, color, possibly clashing with the vehicle you try to picture. Car pics almost looks better without a license plate. No?

Don't you guys prefer looking at cars having their license plate blanked and/or replaced with a sponsor or automaker logo instead? I'm already convinced that it is how a Professional Photograph would want it to be ;)

In fact, browsing at some car pictures... it doesn't look bad at all with plate revealed.

Must be just me then :/

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1407336800.jpg

So the unmasked tag argument is:
Someone could break into my house.
So why bother locking the door, just make it easy for them.

And mikeman, as a former photographer, that is just rude. Granted, they could remove their plates at the events to protect their privacy, but outing people's private info when asked not to do so is unprofessional and uncouth. Are you a paparazzi?

These events are not public events on public roads supported by taxpayer money, but are more akin to a private party, when the guests should feel free to remove their sunglasses and drink too much (metaphorically speaking) without fear of it haunting them forever on the internet.

No doubt some database or freak out there knows my sister's brand of shampoo and the name of my dog's vet, but I'm not going to make it overly easy to pin me and my data down, I'll keep the tags covered in any photos. Ok I've vented.

And Nine8Six, that very car was behind me in traffic at dusk the other day. Looks wicked with those upsloping LED eyebrows! Thought it would be some poseur, but nope when it got close, was the real thing, just tooling around in traffic. No front plates here, mate, or maybe I could have googled him:eek:

Outing people's private information?
The state owns the plate!

If the track is accessible by the public, no expectation of privacy. Sorry. If you're paranoid, it's not up to me to cover your butt. Take your plate off or put a sponsor plate on or whatever. It's not rocket surgery.

I run around tracks with my plates on myself, I'm not a tinfoil hat kinda guy I guess.

google blurs the plates and peoples faces as well due to privacy issues

until some russian mobster with a new lambo gets warranty refused on his $20k premature wear clutch job because photos of his car at the track show up on the first page of a google search for "lamborghini mosport" ...

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/att...-1024x680-.jpg

this isn't tin foil hat stuff.

Its probably a gray area whether or not it is "public". If there are fees paid and registration required, it may be considered a private event.

In any case, you are taking pictures of people without their permission and should abide by their wishes.

At many entertainment events, photographers need to be approved and credentialed .

An example is at a concert, they restrict audio recording. It is open to the public, but not a public event. There is a difference and different expectations of privacy

If you were taking a picture of a car on the street it is different than at a racetrack where it could create a problem for the car owner with their insurance company or a warranty repair

Are you selling the pictures you take or getting any consideration for the pics?

nope, unless asked by organizers to use them to promote similar events, they are purely for the enjoyment of fellow track nerds.

Listen to me, as someone who once dealt with very sophisticated criminals in federal court on daily basis, the last thing you want to do is put any personal information on the internet that calls attention to the fact that you have assets worth plundering. And no you don't have to be a billionaire. The profit in these crimes is not in going after a big whale but scooping up all the sardines. The license plate information is not all that relevant but more so the fact that you're not very cautious, and with cyber security in its current state (i.e. poor) a well-traveled criminal probably figures you are sloppy about other things too. Someone who understands the reach that the internet has doesn't take uncessary risk. Case in point, most people have their banking with one of three major banks. Their internet provider with one of only a couple of companies. All of these have been hacked. It's not your physical property they'll be checking out. That's a high risk/low reward proposition that migh actually get them caught... One time we had a guy come on a bank fraud arrest. He had so many different alliases that they weren't sure which was correct so they listed all of them. It took up nearly the whole first page of the complaint. When the he came in wearing belly chains and hand cuffs I figured his age to be about 15. Okay this was like 15 years ago when these sorts of thigns were actually hard to do.

Russian Criminals Amass Massive Stolen Password Cache - Page: 1 | CRN

That s a link to an article claiming 1/2 sets of login credentials have been found cached in Russia. A more credible newsletter I subscribe to lists a smaller - yet still staggering number. I cancelled a Verizon account over a year ago. Yesterday I got a letter telling me that it had been hacked. Letter stated that the hacker had full access, except for payment details on a stored account - and that was simply because i did not let Verizon auto bill or otherwise store the payment information - although they offered.....so yeah, I don't try to share to much.

You should try to not draw attention to yourself at anytime. It is very easy to find out who the vehicle is registered to via the plate number.

Mindless paranoia

Total silliness. Park the car in the garage and keep the lights off. Safe.

paranoid, perhaps. what is mindless is your disdain for others opinions.

He's from Canada. Gotta give him some slack........;)

having been in law enforcement, a plate can be run, providing basic information on the registered owner. if you are that concerned, blur your plate if not, don't worry about it. I have seen in some of the posts some people complaining about someone photographing their cars and plate. if you don't want that to happen, park it in your garage. when you are in public, it is open season for someone to take a picture, and you have no expectation of privacy. if your privacy is so valuable, stay in your house and don't forget to take the numbers for your address off the house!

You mind running a quick chk on this bad boy for us?! He owes me a ride w/ top down since about a month+

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1401557192.jpg

Just kidding with ya. I don't think its a paranoia thing.... these days very few options are left to common people for "protecting" their privacy. If one gets the "felling" that he/she hides his identity, or does well protecting his personal information in any ways possible, whatever it is, then I am all up for it. Go happy and blur your plates... feels good then it feels good that's all there is to it really!

Wouldn't go as far as calling those who does blur out their plates "paranoid"

Exactly the point - it is paranoia based on uninformed opinion with no basis in fact, in other words, mindless.

A private citizen, at least in Canada, cannot run a plate - I know because I've tried. If you think you have a reason then you go to the police and state your complaint and they will run the plate and investigate, but they will not release the information to you unless their investigation warrants it. Even a police officer cannot legally run a plate for personal reasons - again, I know as I have worked for the Mounties and am aware of the regulations. Are you starting to understand the difference between "mindless" and "informed" yet? I can try and make the explanation a little simpler for you if need be...

Tell you what - here's my plate: Manitoba DHK 976. Tell me what you find out. Be warned that if you do get any info I will immediately file a complaint with the police and your source will be in trouble.

Evidence of a crime about to happen. Not for all viewers here. You have been warned!

http://986forum.com/forums/show-tell-gallery/52468-lets-see-your-personalized-plate.html

It's not disdain, it's incredulity that others would demand me (or any other photographer) to alter their work, based on their own paranoia, when they themselves are not making an effort to conceal said "private" information.


Not trying to come off like a dick here, but if you're not going to take the 30 seconds to spin a few screws out of your bumper, don't expect me to take 30 seconds to cover it up in photoshop. On 20 different photos. Of each car. .

I know I know.. :ah:

lol.

It just always blows me away that it should be my responsibility after the fact.