When did Google (and Bing) start blurring-out RRs on satellite views?

[peteski]

Interesting how the overall image quality (sharpness and resolution) seems much lower in this year's image.  In the 2012 image you can even clearly see the power line conductors.

[C855B]

Putting the exclamation point on it, I did the current versus history on Afton in Google Earth. Turns out the "before" overhead posted above was in fact from Google Earth.

So. The most recent (2024) satellite imagery is garbage. I was right about the change being two or three months ago. So no more Google Maps satellite views (for the time being). If we want sharp images, use Google Earth Pro to click back to a pre-2024 view.

[dem34]

Have to wonder if its a deliberate concession now that targeting weapons via google maps is now a thing that happens regularly within the last 2 years
.

[C855B]

Footnote - Lots of threads on Reddit starting in 2023 complaining about the loss of resolution in Google Maps and Earth, and illogical blurring. It's a thing, apparently. No answers from the Google Earth "help" forums, just platitudes redirecting the perceived problem back at the user. 

[peteski]

Have to wonder if its a deliberate concession now that targeting weapons via google maps is now a thing that happens regularly within the last 2 years
.

While  that might seem like a logical deduction, to me it seems that even the low-res images are still plenty good for targeting (after all weapons can easily destroy area larger than what is blurry).  They don't require resolution high enough to almost see leaves on trees, and for power lines, there is usually wide path of sparser vegetation visible in the power line corridors.

[John]

Have to wonder if its a deliberate concession now that targeting weapons via google maps is now a thing that happens regularly within the last 2 years
.

I doubt it ..

[Scottl]

You can literally order custom 30 cm resolution civilian aquisitions for any location.

And to be blunt, drone imagery is way easier to acquire and more detailed anyway.  There are few places equipped to prevent drone photography.

[Tristan Ashcroft]

Just chiming in to note that the most recent imagery for a place can vary by resolution and data provider.  National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) data from USDA is reasonably reliable: it's a national data set that's updated every two (or sometimes three) years.  But, it has 1 meter resolution - which in the context of zooming in to the rails and ties, is is pretty low resolution.  Other data sets are hit and miss, depending on location, timing, and data provider.  For example, Pennsylvania recently released 1/2 foot resolution data under the guise of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA).  I don't know when the next time slice in that series might be.  About those PEMA photos, the resolution is pretty great, but the files are huge.  I imagine Google thinks about the tradeoffs involving bandwidth and resolution.  The most recent data set for my current residence on Google Earth is currently from Airbus.  Which, hey, it's free stuff, so I'm not going to be writing any angry letters to Google over it - but it's not who I expected for southeastern Pennsylvania data.
Which is all to say, in the cases that aren't obvious blurring of a neighborhood or such there may be no deliberate attempts at increasing or decreasing resolution - just a continued effort to have the most recent photos of the location - based on whatever Google can get for free, or at least a price that they are comfortable with.

[Chris333]

I have the 2 counties I live in via a military plane from 1938. It had something to do with the department of agriculture. It is cool to see everything before freeways.

The program opens them all in place as one big image, but you can see where they slightly overlap.

[Maletrain]

I am seeing the same gray band running (mostly) over the country lane into my neighborhood.  It seems to be some sort of attempt to depict the road, rather than obscure it.  Maybe something to do with AI routing of traffic routes by computer? Whatever it is, it is a pain for planning some maintenance activites for my community.

I used follow the tracks with Google Maps in the area I model, and was able to see the individual rails.  I used to laugh when I'd catch a photo-stitch that connected the opposite rails, so that the there were 2 rails that just ended. 

[TrainCat2]

I just looked at Canyon Diablo and it's crystal clear. I can see piles of recently replaced ties.

https://tinyurl.com/5hdwe45w

[C855B]

I just looked at Canyon Diablo and it's crystal clear. I can see piles of recently replaced ties.

https://tinyurl.com/5hdwe45w

I disagree. Here's the previous imagery:

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Missaberoad]

So basically this just seems to be value engineering and cheaping out on a popular product?

[Tristan Ashcroft]

So basically this just seems to be value engineering and cheaping out on a popular product?

Out of curiosity, how many of us are paying to view these sorts of photos?

[C855B]

Out of curiosity, how many of us are paying to view these sorts of photos?

I daresay all of us.