Swathes of Malta vanish from Google Street View

Swathes of Malta appear to have disappeared from Google’s Street View feature, as the tech giant says it has fixed the issue.

Street View, accessed through Google Maps and Google Earth, allows users to browse street-level photos captured by the company and is frequently used by internet users to scout routes and locations.

But, according to Paolo Cassar Manghi, who works at an architecture firm and who regularly uses the technology to check streetscapes, in the past month images for scores of roads across various localities have disappeared from the popular tool.

“I first noticed that a huge network of streets within Kirkop disappeared completely. Then I checked around and saw that the same happened throughout Safi, Żurrieq, Tarxien, Paola and Mosta,” he told Times of Malta, noting that Gozo did not appear to be affected.

Cassar Manghi emphasised that, as a frequent Street View user who also used the feature recreationally in a similar way to online games such as Geoguessr, where users try to guess the location of images from the platform, he knew Malta’s coverage “pretty much inside out”.

The affected areas all had full Google Street View coverage in the past, he said.

A sample of the affected roads. Grey roads indicate those for which Street View is not available. Screenshots: Paolo Cassar Manghi/Google Maps.

Unavailable

“Considerable areas throughout Naxxar are also missing and even the main route to Għargħur from Naxxar.”

Screenshots of areas of Malta in Google Maps, provided by Cassar Manghi, show scores of roads unavailable for Street View browsing.

Times of Malta sent those screenshots and queries about their absence to Google, which replied that it had now resolved this issue and reinstated the imagery.

At the time of writing, the missing areas were still unavailable, however, with Mosta appearing to show fewer roads available on Street View than first flagged.

Community discussion platforms such as Reddit have also discussed Street View images disappearing from different areas across the world.

Meanwhile, Cassar Manghi said that, in addition to some areas being totally inaccessible, he had noticed 2016 images of others disappear, with only the most recent images captured in 2022 now available.

Less roads Mosta appear to be available in recent days, despite Google’s assurances it has fixed the issue. Screenshot: Google Maps.

Deleted

“Many cities all over the world get their coverage updated almost every single year and one can check through 10 to 15 versions of Street View. Meanwhile, in Malta, the only full version we have is 2016 and it’s getting deleted. The 2022 was a minimal patch update that barely updated much of our road network.”

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment about claims that older images were being removed.

Street View launched in Malta in 2017, with many users quick to point out that the island’s notoriety of traffic conventions suddenly became visible to everyone.

Last month, website VirtualStreets.org – maintained by a group of volunteers interested in Google Street View and similar services – reported that the tech giant appeared to be preparing to update its Street View images.

“One question hanging over any future update to Street View in Malta is whether it could include Badcam [lower-quality] coverage”, the website says.

Google did not respond to questions about any planned refreshing of its Street View archive in Malta.

In late 2024, rival tech giant Apple deployed white cars bearing the words ‘Apple Maps’ on Malta’s roads, equipped with roof-mounted 360-degrees cameras, taking photos of roads, signs and landmarks.