Why cover the license plate in for sale ads?
 

So, in some for sale ads, the seller goes through some trouble to obscure the license plate. We drive around with the license plate showing all day- what is the danger of showing it online?

Yeah, I never understood this either.

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Probably because when you see it out in the world, it's fleeting and you're likely not going to pay much attention or remember or care.
Pictures posted online can stay for years or be saved and if you piss off the right psycho that happens to be clever, it's not hard for them to gain your personal information and cause you problems.

Maybe...


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I agree..... these days to easy to have personal data stolen, or someone track you down using plate number for whatever reason.

What's the harm in covering it?

It is possible to get some info from someone's license plate, but there is often so much more info embedded in the picture itself. Most cell phones and many modern cameras will geotag photos with precise coordinates of where the picture was taken. If you have image editing software, it should be able to display the 'EXIF' info which contains metadata about the photo - camera type and settings, time, location, photographer's ssn and bank account info... :eek:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1551537713.jpg

Will I cover up the tag when I'm selling a car? Sure, sometimes b'cuz Craigslist. In general with photos? Why bother.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02/TTO1551537856.jpg

It's a personal choice.

Usually, it's for security. Thieves, vandals, ex-wives, Vinnie down at the dock who loaned you $5,000. You get the idea.

It's not too hard to find the address where the car is registered using a plate number. In many states, car registration/traffic citations/lawsuits/insurance claims/etc are public. Websites crawl these databases and then sell the search results.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1551550934.jpg

Thieves might find it easy shopping

I work in TV news, and trust me, if we could get that info easily, we would. But I haven't lived in a state yet (and I've worked from the East coast to the Rockies) where you could get that info if you weren't a cop.
The whole thing is just silly.
As someone else noted, there's more in the metadata that's easily discovered.

In Australia some of the car sale sites require you to submit a photo that contains your number plate.

I agree. You're not going to type in a license number and get an address. Its not that simple. Sorry if that was the implication.

All of those are pay sites. And not every site will have the exact info you're looking for, so you have to subscribe to several sites to get pieces of info that help on the subsequent paid searches. Do it enough times and it you eventually can find what you're looking for. Just depends on how persistent and committed you are and if you're willing to spend a good amount of money to get there. I've done it successfully several times.

As to using metadata, that only works if the photographer is a true neophyte. Anyone with any tech knowledge will know how to turn GPS off on their camera.