A 3D tour might show more of your home than you’d like.
The news
In Devon, far in the southwest of England, a 3D house tour gave prospective buyers a close look at the seller’s personal details. The BBC reports that you could zoom in on the desk in the study to view financial paperwork, including a shares dividend check, insurance policy document, and an invoice for a stairlift.
It gets worse
The home tour has been live since October, or around half a year. It also included identifying data about the homeowners and their health. The estate agent notes that they warn owners using 3D tours to put away sensitive materials, but the paperwork had slipped past both the agent and the homeowner.
Speed or privacy—pick one
Though producing a 3D tour of your home may not seem that different from having your home photographed, there are important differences. Where photographs capture a selected portion of your home, a 3D home tour requires that you get nearly 100% coverage. A 3D tour puts every small part of your home on display and makes it zoomable.
It’s difficult not to see this story as a cautionary tale: When you move fast with a technology like 3D home tours—and fail to properly account for the implications for privacy, safety, and so on—it might just bite you down the line.