YouTuber exposes ultra-rich community that's been hidden from Google Maps for decades
Google Maps offers the most comprehensive coverage of pretty much anywhere on Earth right now, yet there's one ultra-rich community that has been left unexposed for decades now despite attempts to chart it.
Despite how incredibly useful it is as a tool, many were rightfully concerned about their own privacy when Google Maps launched, leading the tech giant to implement methods like blurring and pixellation to protect people's identities and actions.
With this, pretty much every corner of the planet is viewable in some capacity through the service – outside of a few important distinctions like the Pentagon – yet there's one otherwise innocuous community in the United States that remains untouched by the age of digital mapping.
It's unlikely that anyone outside of Minnesota has heard of the 'city' of North Oaks, yet this ultra-rich community of just 5,272 residents has managed to keep itself away from Google's influence through one key ruling.
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It was initially on Google Maps back when it first launched, yet successfully sued the company for its removal in 2007 because, unlike pretty much anywhere else on the planet, its roads are technically private property.
This means that stepping within the bounds of the city is classified as illegal trespassing unless you're a resident, with license plate readers and security cameras at every entrance to monitor who comes and goes from the community.
While that unusual classification of trespassing does prevent Google from going in and doing its thing, one YouTuber saw it as an opportunity to do some mapping of his own by entering the one area they can't legally control: the sky.
Chris the Producer, real name Chris Parr, is known for his map-related videos on YouTube, and as a Minnesota resident that lives just 14 minutes from North Oaks he saw it as his duty to finally digitize the 'secret city'.
Equipped with a 360 camera and a drone, Chris obtained an FAA license and started to record the community without breaching the strict rules, and the only thing he had to abide by was keeping the drone within line of sight at all times.
This allowed him to map most of the roads close to the community's perimeter, but he devised a genius plan that would let him complete his project.
He made a Craigslist post offering payment for a resident to invite him to the park inside North Oaks, as that would be the only way he'd be legally allowed in to continue recording.
Thankfully one individual named Maggie responded to his advert, allowing him to complete his street map of North Oaks, which he then uploaded to Google's service.
Looking on Google Maps now, however, it appears as it has since been removed following legal threats from North Oaks Homeowner's Association (NOAHA) president Andrew Hawkins, as per the New York Post.