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CCI

Metal Rules
This is for real guys. This is no hoax. I even checked my old phone numbers and they came up too. Get yourself off this list now!!!! Read on:

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 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 phonebook results link above your phone number and scroll down. I removed my name, but it 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...


Might want to pass this on to friends and family.
 
I tried my number and nothing came up, but that is probably because I only have a cell phone. I then tried my parents number since they have had the same one for the last 27 years and sure enough, there was the address and a link to a map.
 
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there is nothing new to this feature... it has existed for years... as has the same feature on the internet phone books (411.com, anywho.com).. called reverse lookup... and mapping features... same exists for a reverse lookup of an address... to find out who lives at a given address...

decades ago there was the Thomas Directory.. it had this information in hardcopy (obviously)... I used it while clerking at a law firm in the 70s...

and why be surprised... last week or so, a BP'er provided a site that not only let you know where folks lived (like JT and Herbie).. but how much their house was worth and the physical layout of the exterior and interior of the house... with exterior pictures !!! now THAT'S intrusive and scary...
 
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I'm not sure why this is so shocking. It's been around for years, and there are scarier, more intrusive things out there. Hell, these companies are mining data on you every time you perform a search.

From snopes.com:

As to the issue of whether this Google feature is a shocking "invasion of privacy," there are a few points to keep in mind:

* This feature is not "new" — the PhoneBook service has been offered by Google for several years now.

* This feature does not work for every phone number. Some classes of phone numbers, such as unpublished phone numbers (i.e., numbers belonging to customers who have requested that their local phone service providers not publish their numbers in printed phone directories or make them available through directory assistance), will not display.

* The information displayed is compiled from a number of publicly accessible sources and is not unique to Google. There are many other web sources through which users can look up the same information.

* Google has simply combined two different services readily available on a number of different web sites: reverse phone directory look-ups and mapping/driving directions services. Even without Google, it's a simple feat for any moderately knowledgeable web user to plug a phone number into a reverse phone directory web site to find the name and address corresponding to that number, then use an on-line service such as Mapquest to obtain directions to that address.

In short, the Google PhoneBook feature may be troubling to those who value their privacy, but it's a symptom and not a cause. The larger issue is that many entities we deal with in daily life who are privy to our personal information can make that information available to sources that compile databases which services such as Google PhoneBook use. The public has been making privacy gains through the implementation of laws such as those requiring credit bureaus, phone companies, and motor vehicle bureaus to offer "opt-out" features which provide customers with means to restrict the distribution of their personal information, but until that larger issue is completely eliminated, trying to keep one's personal information off the web is akin to engaging in a perpetual game of "Wack-a-Mole": it provides momentary satisfaction but otherwise accomplishes little.
 
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