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One of the most popular features present on Google Maps is Street View. This enables users to get a personal view of different houses and streets as if they were there. Now, Google is partnering with some companies to bring Street View back to India.
Back in 2016, the Indian government declared that there were security and privacy risks with Street View technology. Thus, the feature was banned in the country. This was, of course, not ideal for users who loved the feature.
The Street View is a useful tool if you want to get a good look at a place before going. Also, if you’re searching a location on the map, but the aerial view is obscured by trees, you’ll be able to use the Street View.
Now, Street View is returning to parts of India
This is definitely good news for people who have long missed this feature. Google has partnered with local Indian companies Genesys International and Tech Mahindra to bring Street View back to India. This is good news for Indian users, and it marks a first for the company. This is the first time that Google was able to deliver Street View in collaboration with a local company.
Back in 2021, India introduced a new policy called the Geospatial Policy. This gives local entities the ability to collect location data and images. Because of this policy, Genesys International and Tech Mahindra are able to collect data from certain parts of India. So, Google has access to the data that these companies can provide, and that’s why it can use Street View.
Since Google is getting information from different companies, we can expect the quality and reach of the images to be different. We’re not sure if there will be any loss in quality or the opposite. We can’t deny that Google does some insane things with its map technology, so it’s easy to expect a downgrade in quality.
On the other hand, the last time Street View was in India was back in 2016, so it shouldn’t be too hard to top what Google could do back then. We’ll need to wait for this to come to India before we make an assessment.