Why do people cover/blur their license plates when posting pictures online?

[v8440]

Google this tag:

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[roadPilot]

Google this tag:

Can't. It's missing one of the two bolts needed to secure it. LOL.

 

[Graygoose2021]

Never bothered me, if someone wants to find me, pretty easy. On a side note, my custom plate frame makes me proud. Ive had this one since 2015.

 

[ttnuagmada]

seems overly paranoid to me. Hundreds of people see it every day, and you're 10,000,000x more likely to piss one of them off than you are some rando on the internet, so if people were going to do something nefarious with them it would be happening constantly, but I've never heard of anything happening due to someone having someone's license plate outside of an occasional story about a cop stalking his ex's BF or something. It's also a lot more difficult to get any useful info with it than you might think.

 

[gnikdaor]

All of this ignores the fact that finding out the personal information for the registered owner of a vehicle having nothing more than the license plate that hangs off the back of your vehicle is not something anyone other than law enforcement or other persons authorized by state law can legally or easily do. If you think some "hacker" is looking up license plates found in pictures posted on the internet using some secret squirrel hacker "license plate database", I've got some oceanfront property in Montana you might be interested in.

Wow. Just. Wow.

You know what, you are right. That motor vehicle registry can NEVER be hacked. In fact, it is hackproof! It is the most secure database in the history of mankind. Even banks would love to use their database security. Because we all know that gooberment databases are unhackable, right? Wow. Just. Wow.

Like I said, I give zero f**ks what anyone posts on the internet about themselves. Hell, go ahead and put your full name, full address, DOB, SSN, blood type, DNA profile, tax return, and bank statements on the internet for all I care. Put pictures of yourself and your family too. I prefer a bit of paranoia, the way the world is these days, it just makes common sense to plaster as little info about oneself as possible online. Statistically speaking, the odds are nothing will ever happen, but why risk it when blocking out a license plate takes seconds. If one doesn’t care, then don’t cover it. I don’t waste my time criticizing people that do from my high horse. SMDH.

As always, YMMV.

 

[roadPilot]

You know what, you are right. That motor vehicle registry can NEVER be hacked. In fact, it is hackproof! It is the most secure database in the history of mankind. Even banks would love to use their database security. Because we all know that gooberment databases are unhackable, right? Wow. Just. Wow.

That's not what I said. I suggest that you focus on what was said. It's not long division, I assure you.

 

[powerboatr]

Because people of the internet can pretty easily figure out your name and address from a plate number.

And us Texans are friendly...especially when folks we don't know stop in the driveway???

 

[Pelican]

I do it because I'm a celebrity and don't want people recognizing my truck. Lmao.
In all honesty I'm not sure. I've posted mine both ways.

I don't have plates; I believe in running wild and free. ? Valid question though.

 

[Lricaud81]

I don't have plates; I believe in running wild and free. ? Valid question though.

We'll all go plateless we're wild and free stallions. Lol

 

[magvallo]

This is a crazy story about how custom vanity plates can cause a headache!

https://www.kwtx.com/2024/12/14/wom...cause-license-matched-numbers-star-trek-ship/

 

[Zengineer]

No fear here.

 

[blankkey]

All of this ignores the fact that finding out the personal information for the registered owner of a vehicle having nothing more than the license plate that hangs off the back of your vehicle is not something anyone other than law enforcement or other persons authorized by state law can legally or easily do. If you think some "hacker" is looking up license plates found in pictures posted on the internet using some secret squirrel hacker "license plate database", I've got some oceanfront property in Montana you might be interested in.

Wow. Just. Wow.

Almost anyone can look up details about a vehicle and its owner from a license plate. You're right that technically and legally, it's limited to several specific purposes including being a LEO, private investigator, parking lot owner (it's how they mail you a ticket when you park in a private lot without paying), etc.

Some companies allow you to access this information by doing nothing more than paying a fee and clicking a button that says you're obtaining the information for one of the permitted reasons with no further proof necessary. I'm guessing that some people don't care too much about breaking the law and would pay a negligible amount to do such a thing.

There's no need to be paranoid about it, but it's not restricted to law enforcement or difficult to get the information.

 

[roadPilot]

Almost anyone can look up details about a vehicle and its owner from a license plate.

Michigan plate EEA 4794. Go ahead and tell me all personal information. I'll wait right here.

Beyond that, I NEVER said, "it's not restricted to law enforcement". I said:

"... anyone other than those authorized by state or federal law ..."

Yes, there are more people besides LEOs who are "authorized by state or federal law". Focus.

Zero threads started and a whopping four whole messages posted since joining 3 days ago. Great start to your participation ...

 

[ttnuagmada]

Almost anyone can look up details about a vehicle and its owner from a license plate. You're right that technically and legally, it's limited to several specific purposes including being a LEO, private investigator, parking lot owner (it's how they mail you a ticket when you park in a private lot without paying), etc.

Some companies allow you to access this information by doing nothing more than paying a fee and clicking a button that says you're obtaining the information for one of the permitted reasons with no further proof necessary. I'm guessing that some people don't care too much about breaking the law and would pay a negligible amount to do such a thing.

There's no need to be paranoid about it, but it's not restricted to law enforcement or difficult to get the information.

I think you're assuming you can pay for one of those personal-info sites and get the current owner of a vehicle with a license plate number. You'll be surprised to find out that it doesn't really work like that. At best you can find out a name for who originally purchased the vehicle.

Then there's also the part where it's 10000 times easier to just find some random person on the internet to harass than it is pay to look up a license plate for some random person on the internet to harass. Why would having a license plate number make you any more of a target than typing "John Smith" in google and harassing the first LinkedIn account that pops up? Makes absolutely 0 sense, on top of the fact that anyone who would want to harass you based on a license plate, are the people you encounter on the road, and when have you ever once heard of that happening?

 

[HammaMan]

There are several paid sites that will provide you with the owners info from a plate. They'll just make you promise it's for legit reasons per the DPPA. People don't lie.

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