Drone operator exposes secret suburb that vanished from Google Maps for years

23 hours ago 1

Imagine an entire suburb so exclusive, so determined to protect its residents’ privacy, that it successfully vanished from Google Maps for over a decade.

It’s the real-life saga of North Oaks, Minnesota, an ultra-rich enclave where property privacy was taken to an unprecedented level – until a drone operator blew its cover.

For years, North Oaks – home to around 5272 residents – held the unique distinction of being the only community not visible on Google Maps’ Street View.

This digital invisibility was a deliberate, decades-long campaign by its affluent residents, who sought to keep their sprawling, multimillion-dollar properties and private lives out of the public eye.

North Oaks’ exposure in the US comes as more and more Aussies are opting to conceal their own homes on Google Maps via the tech giant’s “blur your home” feature on Street View.

Users can locate their home on Google Maps, open the Street View image, and click “Report a problem” to request a permanent blur.

However, some warn that a blurred home might inadvertently signal that residents have something to conceal.

While this feature is available to everyone, the residents of North Oaks went about wiping their digital footprint a little differently.

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North Oaks is an exclusive Minnesota oasis for the moneyed.

Million-dollar homes line the streets.

The Midwestern haven, home to some of the nation’s wealthiest, boasts dozens of palatial estates, with properties regularly listed upwards of $1.13m (US$800,000), and some fetching close to $5m (US$3.5m), such as a five-bedroom, seven-bathroom residence that hit the market last year.

The allure of North Oaks lies not just in its grand homes, but in its unparalleled commitment to exclusivity.

“There is a perception that a lot of executives, a lot of CEOs of Minnesota companies, live in North Oaks,” noted digital content creator Chris Parr, who was born in the state.

Despite its reputation, he added, “many Minnesotans don’t even know about (it).”

The community’s secrecy is maintained through various measures, including licence plate readers and security cameras monitoring all entry and exit points.

Crucially, North Oaks isn’t a traditional gated community; instead, developers legally shifted every homeowner’s property line to encompass the streets, effectively rendering all roads private property.

“Maps are a piece of public infrastructure. To have an incomplete map is a disservice to humanity,” said Carr while defending his mission to map North Oaks (above).

This ingenious legal manoeuvre meant there were no public thoroughfares for Google’s Street View cars to traverse.

The community’s resolve was famously tested in 2008 when the North Oaks council threatened Google with legal action after discovering their neighbourhood was visible via Street View.

In a stern letter, they warned of trespassing charges if the tech giant didn’t remove the images and wipe the data.

Google capitulated, in what a company representative described as likely the first instance of an entire US city demanding removal from the digital grid.

“This is very rare where an entire town would request to be taken off,” Google rep Elaine Filadelfo told The Post.

A Google Map view of the exclusive enclave.

However, this digital cloaking device was recently disabled by Chris Parr.

After completing a course to become an official drone operator, Parr identified a loophole: while the town owned the land, it didn’t own the airspace.

With Federal Aviation Administration approval and keeping his drone within sight, he embarked on a mission to map the elusive suburb.

To bypass the extensive surveillance, Parr posted a Craigslist advertisement seeking an invite from a North Oaks resident.

A woman, using the handle Maggie Smith, granted him entry to the West Rec Park for a fee. From this vantage point, Parr captured extensive drone footage, revealing rows of immaculate, multimillion-dollar homes and perfectly ploughed roads, all while adhering to the letter of the law:

“North Oaks didn’t ban mapping. only trespassing,” he noted in his video.

His viral YouTube footage showcased the previously hidden streets and properties, much to the chagrin of the North Oaks Homeowner’s Association, whose president, Andrew Hawkins, is reportedly considering legal action.

North Oaks has slipped under the public’s radar until now.

Parr, however, defended his actions, telling the Daily Mail that “Maps are a piece of public infrastructure. To have an incomplete map is a disservice to humanity.”

His mission resonated with many online commenters, who praised his efforts to bring the “hoity-toity hamlet to light,” with some noting the “Streisand Effect” – where attempts to suppress information inadvertently draw more attention to it.

The North Oaks saga highlights the lengths to which some property owners will go to protect their privacy and the ever-evolving battle between digital transparency and personal anonymity in the modern age.