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Google Street View just protected the identity of a cow - 6 other times it's mucked up

From censoring a cow's face to chopping off a man's head, it's the service that keeps on giving

Google Street View just protected the identity of a cow - 6 other times it's mucked up
16 September 2016

Google Maps is incredible. Superb. Utterly brilliant.

We don't know where we'd be without it. Literally. 

However - such are the complications with constructing and curating one of the largest mapping services in human history, every now and then it cocks something up. Like censoring the face of a cow. 

The masked bovine grazer, spotted in Cambridge on Google Maps Street View, was highlighted by The Guardian US's David Shariatmadari (read his article, it's got some amoosing puns). Google admitted its security system - which scans images for faces, blurring them to ensure the privacy and protect the identity of those captured on camera - had been "overzealous". 

Here are several more occasions Google Maps and its Street View function have got things a bit wrong.