Chilling reason Google Maps blurred this house on ordinary street

On a seemingly normal street in Cleveland, Ohio, a house with a dark history has been blurred out from public view on Google Maps.

The home, located at 2208 Seymour Avenue, sits between a series of other ordinary-looking homes in the Ohio suburb. From the birds-eye view on Google Maps, users can see a slate-grey roof nestled between other homes but on Street View, the house is completely burred out

The home once belonged to abusers Ariel Castro who kidnapped three women and held them captive in the house for nearly a decade. The women, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Georgina "Gina" DeJesus, were raped and abused by Castro until 2013 when Berry made contact with neighbors who called the police.

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Castro was arrested in May 2013 and pled guilty to 937 of the 977 charges he was accused of. As part of the plea deal, the home on Seymour Avenue was taken from his possession and demolished.

Netflix released a documentary about the kidnappings recently.

The home on Seymour Avenue is blurred out on Google Maps street view Google Maps

It is unclear if a new house was built on the lot but likely the home is blurred-out for safety and privacy reasons.

Any user may ask Google to blur their home on Street View using the "Report a Problem" button. Often government officials, CEOs, and celebrities will have their homes censored to protect themselves.

Famous homes like the house used in Home Alone have been blurred to protect the owners from unwanted guests.

However, once a home is blurred out on Google Maps it is permanent so users must be cautious when requesting a censored home.

The Google Street View technology has faced criticisms from people who believe it is an invasion of privacy. But all photos are taken from public property, therefore do not invade a private person's privacy in the US.

Google blurs license plates and the faces of people in order to maintain privacy. Recently, users discovered Google began blurring the faces of pets to protect owners as well.

Some places are unseeable on Google Maps like Area 51, the Marcoule Nuclear Site, and more.

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