As an inexperienced and anxious driver (from a tiny suburban / village area / town), Street View (and its alternatives) are god sent to me.

I up front plan my trip, every twist and turn, especially in densely populated areas. I'm not used to driving in dense urban environments with multi-lane streets, so knowing what's gonna happen, when, and how it's going to look is immensely important to me to keep my anxiety under control.

I hope they also permit restoring addresses to street view as well. Apparently it's permanently removed in the US which is a bane for some who are trying to sell their house or have bought a house that was blurred and want it shown.

https://support.google.com/maps/thread/5010142/i-want-to-unb...

It's a bit of a chilling effect for people who want to blur their house and not affect its value and could even be used nefariously.

Where's the loss?

Also, what if my neighbor removes my apartment building, but I want it to be on street view?

From the article

  Like in other countries, it will be possible to opt out of Street View coverage with the option to pixelate your home or business. Google is starting with a blank slate, so anyone who obfuscated their house a decade ago will have to request it once more.

Apple already has recent street view of Germany and nobody cared.

Of course that's possible, if only to calm the nerves of the public (I don't think there is a legal obligation). However, hardly anyone requested it for Apple's equivalent product.

Do you mean that thing that blurs a specific building? I’ve always thought that was a great example of the Streisand effect. It’s not like someone can’t walk/drive there and see it anyway.

It mentions in the article they will.