I was down in Tauranga over the weekend, and one of the first things I did was hit Google Earth to get an overhead of the place we were staying.

Whoa.

Things looked a whole lot sharper than when I view my Auckland home using the same service.

But quickly checking in, I found my hometown had been re-photographed too.

Before, our house and others were pretty much just blobs, recognisable only by their general shape. Now I can make out guttering, and childrens’ toys - at least the jumbo-size ones - in the back garden.

If you haven’t checked out Google Earth for a while, then it’s worth checking in again.

No opt-out
A rep in Google’s Sydney office confirmed New Zealand photos are being updated, but it’s been done on a rolling timetable with no official timetable. Waikato is the only region to have been officially updated, but the sweep is obviously wider.

I was curious: can you request that your property be deleted or blurred out of Google Earth, as you can with Google Maps Street View?

After all, some of those bird's eye views are pretty damn good if you're, say, a nefarious type looking for the best way to access a property.

The Google rep said “Nope, we don’t”.

Unlike Street View, for which Google collects photos itself, using its own camera-mounted cars, Google Earth draws satellite photos from a variety of third-parties.

“Most of it is commercially available in other forms, and we don't have a removal/blurring provision," said the rep.

Incidentally, Google is also refreshing its NZ Street Views with higher resolution photos. Check out the project here.