Hide your license plate!

[Ghis_imp]

This may be a very short thread as the answer might be very logical, swift, and undeniable, but I need to know.

Why is it that everywhere I look, from craigslist, to online pictures, or this forum, that people hide their license plate (cars, trucks, motorcycles, trailers) by either putting a baseball cap over it, or a sock, or blur it out digitally? Besides the home state, and if you current on your registration, what crucial information does it give away, and what's the dangers? I don't think that just about anyone can figure out your address/where you park your baby, by looking at the plate number, except for the police, and the DMV of course. Or is that the point, so the police won't know what bike they're looking out from a picture, because you've got illegal stuff on it? Mine is always in the garage anyway, but that's besides the point. Then there are those who run personalized license plates, and are proud to show them, such as I. My car reads U2LIVE (I'm a big U2 fan), my Triumph Scrambler reads MI6, and my CB reads CBLGND. Well obviously I'm not scared to share, but I might be once you're finished with this thread. So why do people hide their license plate again?

 

[the Ferret]

Paranoia

 

[Cormanus]

Good question, Ghis; I'm not sure there's a simple answer.

Like you, I can't see any great harm in displaying it. Unless, of course, the photo tends to prove you were somewhere you shouldn't have been at the time it was taken. Methinks it may not only be law enforcement interested in that. In part, I think, it's part of a modern view of what privacy requires: you shouldn't display personal information. If that's right, it's entirely a personal choice. Maybe some people don't want their bikes recognised by anyone.

The more important question is probably what you do when you come to post photos of someone else's number plate. Modern protocol ay well require that you either seek their permission to display it or take steps to obscure it.

 

[HikerToo_imp]

fair enough question, I have wondered the same thing, even though I am in IT where we de-identify everything, still felt foolish blurring my plate in a few pictures I posted My vanity plate is now "CB11" we have a 5 digit limit so could not do 1100 all the way.

 

[Cormanus]

So, in this post, Seabee posts a picture with a bit of gaffer tape over the middle of his plate.

Seabee, respectfully, would you mind explaining why you felt the need to do it?

 

[Seabee_imp]

You have all got me thinking now and there really is no particular reason. I guess with all the technology and things you here about on the internet it's just a way to ensure no undesirable characters can trace the license plate to my home address or so my license number cannot be used anywhere else online.
If anyone has any thoughts on this I would be interested to hear them.
I did see somewhere (don't think it was on this forum) that some bodies avatar photo turned up on a Google search for an item. There are some clever but not altogether good things in cyberspace and I only want to be part of the honest friendly interaction that I have experienced here with the CB community.

 

[SanPete_imp]

It is a good question Ghis. I am with ferret in assuming it is paranoia stemming from all the privacy breeches we hear on the news, movies, and Snowden like cases. Nowadays, it is very easy to find all kinds of information on the net. Unlike Cormanus the question I'd be asking is ¿why add more information voluntarily?
Imagine posting a picture of your license plate via Instagram who automatically tags your location? That's a doozy.

Talking about license plates. I witness Pterodactyl taking pictures of some at the rally. What was his intention? And to what end? Now I am really worried.

 

[Novice_imp]

The only reason to hide your tag is to keep it separate from you. If some idiot wants to be a coward and damage my property to get at me, I don't want to make it easy for him to distinguish my CB from any other guy's.

 

[ClassicVW_imp]

I think its a mistaken belief that someone could find out your address and other personal info from having someone run your plate.
The truth is, it would have to be someone in law enforcement to do that and if they did so for non-official police business, they would lose their job and be charged with a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.

 

[Seabee_imp]

Maybe I just feel that as a naked bike she should have some level of decency when I take a photo of her butt

 

[Randy B]

The ONLY way that I can think of for the general public to find your address via your license plate would be if you happen you have HAM radio plates as that information is mandated by the federal government to be registered to your home address and is public information. If you do a google search on any HAM (at least in the United States) it will come up on the FCC web site with the name and address of the licence holder.
Other than that, for any other licence number, it would have to be run either through the DMV or police data bases and neither are available to the general public.
Also MANY more people will see your plate on a day to day basis than will ever see it on the internet unless you live in a rural area with a population of about 10 people.

 

[Cormanus]

Maybe I just feel that as a naked bike she should have some level of decency when I take a photo of her butt

It is a good question Ghis. I am with ferret in assuming it is paranoia stemming from all the privacy breeches we hear on the news, movies, and Snowden like cases. Nowadays, it is very easy to find all kinds of information on the net. Unlike Cormanus the question I'd be asking is ¿why add more information voluntarily?
Imagine posting a picture of your license plate via Instagram who automatically tags your location? That's a doozy.

Talking about license plates. I witness Pterodactyl taking pictures of some at the rally. What was his intention? And to what end? Now I am really worried.

Us Aussies, we collect pictures of number plates either because we harbour a faint hope it may come in handy one day or we've nothing better to do. Your call.

 

[Lord Popgun]

Gee, everytime I ride in public thousands of people see my tags. Police scan them, toll cameras take pics and send them out of state for processing. Tourists take pics and post them all over. I don't care and I'm not worried about it.

Besides, apparently the ChiComs have all my info anyway. Not that that's a good thing...

 

[Cormanus]

Gee, everytime I ride in public thousands of people see my tags. Police scan them, toll cameras take pics and send them out of state for processing. Tourists take pics and post them all over. I don't care and I'm not worried about it.

Besides, apparently the ChiComs have all my info anyway. Not that that's a good thing...

Are you trying to tell us you're a tourist attraction, popgun?

 

[Lord Popgun]

Well I wouldn't say that, but there are a lot of tourists here. And they take pics of everything. I figure I'm in some of them

 

[Cormanus]

Sorry I'm a bit slow this evening. You're a photo bomber then?

 

[Pterodactyl_imp]

Maybe I just feel that as a naked bike she should have some level of decency when I take a photo of her butt

It is a good question Ghis. I am with ferret in assuming it is paranoia stemming from all the privacy breeches we hear on the news, movies, and Snowden like cases. Nowadays, it is very easy to find all kinds of information on the net. Unlike Cormanus the question I'd be asking is ¿why add more information voluntarily?
Imagine posting a picture of your license plate via Instagram who automatically tags your location? That's a doozy.

Talking about license plates. I witness Pterodactyl taking pictures of some at the rally. What was his intention? And to what end? Now I am really worried.

Us Aussies, we collect pictures of number plates either because we harbour a faint hope it may come in handy one day or we've nothing better to do. Your call.

It is a good question Ghis. I am with ferret in assuming it is paranoia stemming from all the privacy breeches we hear on the news, movies, and Snowden like cases. Nowadays, it is very easy to find all kinds of information on the net. Unlike Cormanus the question I'd be asking is ¿why add more information voluntarily?
Imagine posting a picture of your license plate via Instagram who automatically tags your location? That's a doozy.

Talking about license plates. I witness Pterodactyl taking pictures of some at the rally. What was his intention? And to what end? Now I am really worried.

Us Aussies, we collect pictures of number plates either because we harbour a faint hope it may come in handy one day or we've nothing better to do. Your call.
Nah mate, I'm in league with the ChiComs (whoever they may be).

Cheers

 

[SanPete_imp]

Maybe I just feel that as a naked bike she should have some level of decency when I take a photo of her butt

It is a good question Ghis. I am with ferret in assuming it is paranoia stemming from all the privacy breeches we hear on the news, movies, and Snowden like cases. Nowadays, it is very easy to find all kinds of information on the net. Unlike Cormanus the question I'd be asking is ¿why add more information voluntarily?
Imagine posting a picture of your license plate via Instagram who automatically tags your location? That's a doozy.

Talking about license plates. I witness Pterodactyl taking pictures of some at the rally. What was his intention? And to what end? Now I am really worried.

Us Aussies, we collect pictures of number plates either because we harbour a faint hope it may come in handy one day or we've nothing better to do. Your call.

It is a good question Ghis. I am with ferret in assuming it is paranoia stemming from all the privacy breeches we hear on the news, movies, and Snowden like cases. Nowadays, it is very easy to find all kinds of information on the net. Unlike Cormanus the question I'd be asking is ¿why add more information voluntarily?
Imagine posting a picture of your license plate via Instagram who automatically tags your location? That's a doozy.

Talking about license plates. I witness Pterodactyl taking pictures of some at the rally. What was his intention? And to what end? Now I am really worried.

Us Aussies, we collect pictures of number plates either because we harbour a faint hope it may come in handy one day or we've nothing better to do. Your call.
Nah mate, I'm in league with the ChiComs (whoever they may be).

Cheers

It is a good question Ghis. I am with ferret in assuming it is paranoia stemming from all the privacy breeches we hear on the news, movies, and Snowden like cases. Nowadays, it is very easy to find all kinds of information on the net. Unlike Cormanus the question I'd be asking is ¿why add more information voluntarily?
Imagine posting a picture of your license plate via Instagram who automatically tags your location? That's a doozy.

Talking about license plates. I witness Pterodactyl taking pictures of some at the rally. What was his intention? And to what end? Now I am really worried.

Us Aussies, we collect pictures of number plates either because we harbour a faint hope it may come in handy one day or we've nothing better to do. Your call.
Nah mate, I'm in league with the ChiComs (whoever they may be).

Cheers Chinese Community?

 

[Lord Popgun]

Its old school--Chinese Communists. Red China and all that. Not PC anymore probably

 

[ClassicVW_imp]

Maybe I just feel that as a naked bike she should have some level of decency when I take a photo of her butt

Then I'd think you should be covering the exhaust opening and not the license plate!
Well, someone could figure out where you live by just arranging with you thru Craigslist (or phone, or any other way) a meetup to view the bike.

Two weeks ago I drove to meet a young woman to look at a scooter. She chose an intersection to meet at, and I was to call her on her cell to come meet me. I'm sure that was for her protection and that I wouldn't have her address right away. It was in the downtown of a large eastern city during college graduations. I was towing a trailer in case I bought the scoot. (I did buy it). Since the area was so crowded that day, I had not enough space to pull over with the trailer at any intersection, so I pulled a half block further and pulled in front of a driveway to some apartments. Guess what was sitting 75 feet up the drive? Yes, the scooter I was going to look at. I called her and she came out of one of the apartments.

Years ago before the explosion of the internet and before cell phones became available for everyone, we had a young pervert in my town that I was a police officer in. If a female posted a lost ring or something in the classifieds, this perv would call her up and say he thinks he found her item. He was so stupid he would give them his address. They would show up and he would invite them into his house and he would lock the door behind them and then try to kiss them or feel them up. We would regularly arrest him, he would always show up to court with a brown paper bag containing extra underwear and a toothbrush, and plead guilty, and he would then get between one and six months in the county jail. He eventually moved away and I often wondered if he kept up the practice and also wondered if he ever was confronted by a victim's boyfriend and murdered.