License plate censorship.

[Frishkorn]

I've seen this quite a bit for years now. It wasn't until looking at peoples builds on this forum, did it start to really make me question it.

When you take photos of your cars, why to you blur out the license plate number? What does one expect to hide?

[jeffchap]

Agreed. Everyone you pass on the road sees it.

[86-tundra]

I'm with you. Never made sense to me either.

[Koa]

Major reasons include shielding against dealership/other agency warranty claim evidence and, at the extreme, safeguard against those who would use the license number maliciously (fake plates for stolen 86, for example. Rare given the limited number of platforms out, much less stolen)

[Jesse36m3]

I don't know and I never cared. What are you going to do with it? Look up my address up in the DMV? I'll be waiting.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Jesse36m3

I don't know and I never cared. What are you going to do with it? Look up my address up in the DMV? I'll be waiting.

What Koa said and...
Ever piss somebody on the internet off bad enough they really wanted to find you?
Don't know about anyplace else but in Ontario it is as simple as filling out a form and paying $50 to get the info on a car's owner from a plate number.

I am not worried about it either though.

[Jesse36m3]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

What Koa said and...
Ever piss somebody on the internet off bad enough they really wanted to find you?
Don't know about anyplace else but in Ontario it is as simple as filling out a form and paying $50 to get the info on a car's owner from a plate number.

I am not worried about it either though.

LOL, ehh here and there.. I'm subbed to so many forums between different cars I've over the years, audio/speakers, R/C, technology, that it doesn't even bother me anymore. If someone wanted to find me and smash my windows in, it would have been a long time ago.

[swarb]

Theft. You listed all your mods on the forum. I know you have 10k+ in engine mods, on an otherwise stock looking car. All those parts fit on my car. All I need is a license plate and I can look it up where you live. Its not hard to drag a car onto a flat bed.

Its much different now with smart keys and whatnot. Older cars like civics/integras/240sx were much easier to steal. When I had those cars, I got asked plenty of times by sketchy people... "what city are you from?" followed by,, "oh yeah? I live near there too!, what cross streets?" yeah right dude....

[MokSpeed]

Originally Posted by jeffchap

Agreed. Everyone you pass on the road sees it.

Makes yourself a higher chance of being a potential target for thieves. All they have to do is go into your user statistics and view posts you've made to find out what local area you're in or if you attend any meets. After that all they have to do is show up and find your car and figure out where you live or put the car. Next day you wake up and your car is gone and your parts are on craigslist. Especially people who make those "build logs" or "car journals". This used to happen a lot to the Honda Tech guys.

Originally Posted by Jesse36m3

I don't know and I never cared. What are you going to do with it? Look up my address up in the DMV? I'll be waiting.

Because you're home 24/7 right? This isn't a pissing contest. If somebody wants your car badly enough they're going to steal it. I mean why expose yourself anymore than you should? I've seen some crazy stories on car forums regarding how people stole their car.

[malave7567]

Originally Posted by swarb

Theft. You listed all your mods on the forum. I know you have 10k+ in engine mods, on an otherwise stock looking car. All those parts fit on my car. All I need is a license plate and I can look it up where you live. Its not hard to drag a car onto a flat bed.

Its much different now with smart keys and whatnot. Older cars like civics/integras/240sx were much easier to steal. When I had those cars, I got asked plenty of times by sketchy people... "what city are you from?" followed by,, "oh yeah? I live near there too!, what cross streets?" yeah right dude....

exactly this. I still do it out of habit... only takes a second to do anyway.

edit: a good case in point was when someone tried to steal my brother's 2000 stock Civic SI. luckily, a cop happened to be right across the street.

[Braces]

It's unfortunately a sign of our times. You have to be careful with ALL your personal information or some loser will find a way to scam you.

[Defuser]

When you have a memorable or iconic plate, it further reduces the need to conceal it. Flaunt it!

[CAMBAM_6]

Mostly PARANOIA lol...I used to do it to when I put money into my Hondas because i've had 3 Hondas stolen in San Diego. They were JDM style Yoooo..K series hatchbacks are fun miss those days

Now I don't even bother because of my vanity plate and garage helps to

[Sarlacc]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

What Koa said and...
Ever piss somebody on the internet off bad enough they really wanted to find you?
Don't know about anyplace else but in Ontario it is as simple as filling out a form and paying $50 to get the info on a car's owner from a plate number.

I am not worried about it either though.

In Norway it's a 1NOK = 0.14USD text message, you get name and county (+ other useful info about the vehicle) in seconds. Which is usually enough to look up phone and full address using a free app.
I actually did this once. Not from a photo, but a guy in a Volvo who made me seriously lose my cool out on the road. I calmed down quickly, but after discovering that his house was only minutes away.
I'm not concerned about posting photos of my license plate. Road rage, however, has become very convenient.