If I post a photo on Facebook, do I have to blur out the street names?

The other day I was scrolling through pictures from a photo group on Facebook. There I noticed something interesting: one of the users consistently obscured every street name in a photo. This is not only a shame for the beautiful photos (pixelation like this is never particularly pretty), but it is actually unnecessary work that you impose on yourself.

No, you don't have to obscure street names unless you have a personal interest in them! Did you also know that in Germany, Austria and Switzerland it is completely unproblematic to photograph private houses, gardens or even publicly accessible works of art and then use them freely?

It is important that these images are taken from a normally accessible and public area. Because these images fall under the freedom of panorama [ 1].

Copyright and Related Rights Act (Copyright Act)

§ 59 Works in public places

(1) It is permissible to reproduce, distribute and publicly reproduce works that are permanently located on public paths, streets or squares using painting or graphics, photographs or film. In the case of buildings, these powers only extend to the external appearance.

(2) Reproductions may not be made on a building.

Street signs and street names are not subject to copyright or personal rights.

Exceptions and deviating regulations

Until now, freedom of panorama has been regulated differently in Europe. Each country had its own regulations. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the freedom of panorama is actually a freedom: anyone who takes a photo of their environment in a normally accessible public area can use it freely ( apart from the personal rights of any people depicted ). However, the following map shows how different it is in Europe this freedom is granted. The traffic light map makes it clear:


MIMIKAMA( Maximilian Dörrbecker ( Chumwa ) – Own work, using: File:Levels of Freedom of Panorama in Europe.svg )

Therefore, when on vacation you should always pay at least a little attention to which country you are in.

And then there are famous exceptions, a wonderful example of which is the Eiffel Tower. Photographs of the Eiffel Tower day and night are permitted. However, publication of the images is only permitted for daytime photography without permission.

The reason for this lies in the lighting of the Eiffel Tower, because the operating company SETE (Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel) claims the publishing rights to the illuminated Eiffel Tower.

“Daytime views from the Eiffel Tower are rights-free”

“Permission and rights must be obtained from the “Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel” (the Operating Company, or SETE) for the publication of photos of the illuminated Eiffel Tower.”

If you still want to publish a picture of the illuminated Eiffel Tower, you should obtain permission from the operating company: documentation(at)toureiffel.paris

Night photos of the illuminated Eiffel Tower may not be published without the permission of the operating company. This applies to private individuals as well as to commercial use by photographers or filmmakers. (see also Gulden Röttger Rechtsanwälte )

Professionally

And on the other hand: Not everyone who takes photos of houses is a criminal! There are still people who actually take photos of houses for a living. These people are, for example, real estate experts. By the way, we were in contact with one of these and received a letter:


“Hello dear Mimikama team,

I've been following you for a long time and I'm glad that you're educating yourself, although sometimes some people don't really understand it and still spread misconceptions.
But now I'm on this topic: Unknown man photographs houses!
I came across this and would like to “come out anonymously” and clarify a bit. I am one of many so-called “visitors” in Germany, albeit with a normal German license plate. We are real estate experts with highly official orders, all of which are legally secured. Of course it looks strange and we often experience hostility on the street when we photograph certain houses and surroundings but are not allowed to provide any information when asked due to data protection law. The police are often called, to whom we of course identify ourselves and explain the mission. From the outside it seems like a hint of criminal preparation and we are trained to have a de-escalating effect, but that doesn't always work .

One thing is certain, however, we are not criminals and have no plans, we do a very serious job and are thoroughly checked for all negative incidents by the clients, to whom I am not allowed to say anything, and excluded if necessary.
I have already introduced myself to the police and explained the job to them so that if there is any suspicion, they don't investigate incorrectly, but this wasn't "of interest", i.e. it literally didn't matter. I just want to bring a little clarity to the situation, especially since the legal side doesn't completely prohibit this. (see information shown above)


Therefore, the question always remains open: Can it actually be crooks who spy on lucrative properties? Or architects who want to be inspired by interesting construction methods? Municipal officials who want to document planned construction projects or just archive them? Or maybe it's just photography beginners trying out their camera.


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )