The launch of Google’s popular StreetView service in SA, meant to take place last month, was delayed due to what Google has described as the technical complexity of the project. But TechCentral understands from separate sources that the launch was put off by several weeks because, as in other countries, its StreetView vehicles had collected private details about people’s Wi-Fi hotspots, triggering privacy concerns.

Google’s StreetView imagery will still go live in time for the World Cup. The US company announced on Friday that the service will be launched on Tuesday, 8 June, three days ahead of the first game between SA and Mexico. But the launch comes several weeks after the service was meant to be introduced.

Recent investigations by the German government revealed that Google’s StreetView vehicles had collected details from open Wi-Fi connections, prompting accusations that the company had breached people’s privacy.

Google claimed at the time that the collection of Wi-Fi data was a “genuine mistake caused by errant software”. Reports suggest the company may have been able to collect bits of private e-mail and even the websites people were surfing on open and unencrypted wireless hotspots as its StreetView cars drove by.

The US company admitted last month that it had “inadvertently” collected 600GB of “fragmentary data” from Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries. Some regulators, including the US’s Federal Trade Commission, have asked Google to retain the data so that it can be examined. Others have asked the company to destroy the data.

In written response to a query from TechCentral, Google hasn’t specifically denied that the reason for the delay in the launch of StreetView in SA was related to the uproar internationally over the collection of Wi-Fi data.

“Just to be clear, the collection of Wi-Fi data is unrelated to the StreetView product itself,” the spokesman says. “Though the same cars were used [in SA], no Wi-Fi material ever was used in StreetView. Complex technology projects of this scale sometimes face delays, no matter how hard we try to keep everything going to plan. What’s important to us is that we deliver the best quality products to our users, so that they have a great experience when it launches.”

Google StreetView vehicles have spent months driving around SA, taking photographs of locations, including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

StreetView is a popular feature of Google Maps that is already available in more than 100 metropolitan areas around the world. It allows users to explore and navigate virtually a neighbourhood through panoramic street-level images.

The SA Street View images will also be available in Google Earth and on Google Maps for Mobile. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral