Map reveals wild 'teleportation portals' hidden inside Google Street View
People have been left surprised online after an apparent bug was revealed on Google Maps that enables you to instantly transport from one part of the world to another.
As I’m sure we’re all aware, when glancing at a neighborhood on Google Street View, you can travel down the road by double clicking ahead to move forward.
The tech giant behind the feature describes it as ‘360 imagery’ that assists users in knowing where to go and what to expect when traveling around the world.
Through Google Street View, you’re able to ‘explore world-famous landmarks, galleries, and museums right from your device, or turn the clock back with Street View historical imagery to see how a location has changed over time’.
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However, there have been glitches reported by users that are apparently caused by ‘teleportation portals’ hidden within the map.
This means that when moving down a certain path in, let’s say Mexico, they double click and suddenly they’re transported to somewhere like China, thousands of miles away from their intended destination.
Now, users have taken to social media to share more information on how and why it might happen.
On Reddit, one person wrote: “Sometimes the metadata about where an image on Google Street View is gets messed up (usually happens with unofficial coverage), creating a portal. If you enter one end, you will be teleported to the other. They are one-way, with the red points being entrances and blue points being exits. These are only the portals longer than 5000 kilometres - there are FAR more in reality.”
This prompted many users to reply, with one saying: “Oh yeah, I had that happen once. I had no idea it was a thing, I just thought it bugged on me..”
Another commented: “I'd hate to be walking down the street minding my own business and then BAM portaled to Null Island.”
A third person shared: “Getting put in front of one of these in geoguessr would be the ultimate ragebait.”
And a fourth added: “In a few years this is gonna have a story and will be the sequel for backrooms or something alike.”
While Google hasn’t spoken publicly about the so-called ‘teleportation portals’, it is believed that these glitches are created through user-submitted or third-party 360 photos that misplace coordinates.
This results in an error in the metadata, causing a sudden one-way warp across the globe when clicking forward in the feature.