A major update to Google Maps now includes roughly 90-percent of peninsular Malaysia’s public roads. This refers to highways, state roads, urban centres, and ungated neighbourhoods. Street View also includes popular tourist destinations like Taman Negara, Pangkor island, and Putrajaya. The update is now live, and Malaysians can start looking around for their favourite spots on Google Maps.
Privacy concerns were directly addressed during the announcement earlier today, with Google Malaysia Managing Director Sajith Sivanandan making it extremely clear that individuals and businesses who do not want to appear in the images can appeal to Google to have them removed. The usual blurring of faces and car license plates are also already in place. Gated communities are likewise not appearing on the service.
Google is hoping that Street View will help boost economic development by increasing the discoverability of local businesses. The idea is that being able to see the business and its surroundings will make it easier for people to figure out where they need to go to get what they want.
Since launching Street View in Malaysia last year, Google has been working to cover as much of the country as it can manage. This current update only includes the peninsula, with data from East Malaysia still being collected.
