Maybe it’s just me, but that makes zero sense. Your license plate is visible to literally EVERYONE when you’re driving around and even parked in your driveway. Why blur it out in pictures?
In: 3
Let’s say that I’m driving around in my car, and numerous people see my license plate. This is fine.
Let’s say that I post a picture of my car on Reddit with my license plate visible. This is fine so far. Nothing bad has happened yet.
Let’s say that tomorrow I get into an argument on Reddit with somebody who very strongly disagrees with my political views. They are a bit deranged, so they decide to go back through my post history, find my license plate, and pay some shady service to find out my name and address. They start sending me threats, or replying to my comments with personal information about me. This is not okay.
Let’s say that I’m playing Call of Duty with some fucked up teenager who thinks SWATing is an effective way to resolve a problem you have with somebody on the internet. He searches Google for my username, finds the Reddit thread with my license plate, pays some shady service to figure out my name and address, calls 911 and tells them that I’m holding him hostage, and a cop comes to my house and shoots me. This is very not okay.
Alternatively, let’s say that you parked sideways across two handicapped spaces in a BMW, so I post a picture of your car on Reddit for karma. Some internet justice warrior decides that they can use your license plate to look up your information online. God knows why they decide that, but that’s what some people do. They discover that they live 30 minutes away from you, so they go to your house and throw eggs at your car. For bonus points, maybe it was your mom’s car you were borrowing. Her insurance doesn’t cover vandalism, so now she’s out thousands of dollars for a new paint job. Or maybe the justice warrior doesn’t live close to you but decides to report your license plate to your city’s police as being involved in a hit and run etc.
Are these things likely to happen? No. But do they sometimes? Maybe. It takes a few seconds to block out a license plate in a photo. Why not play it safe? I don’t want people online figuring out my real name and address even if they don’t have any reason to hate me.
[Credit to past thread for this answer.](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/afaoi8/comment/edy1map/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
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