Google street view blurs cow's face for privacy

Google said its face-blurring technology had been "a little overzealous". Photo / Google

Google has admitted its face-blurring technology may have been "a little overzealous" after blurring a cow's face for privacy.

The animal was photographed by Google's cameras in Cambridge, England and given the same privacy treatment as humans.

The Guardian's David Shariatmadari sent social media into a frenzy when he tweeted the sight.

Shariatmadari shared his find saying: "Great to see Google taking cow privacy seriously."

So far the tweet has been liked more than 12,000 times and shared more than 9,000 times.

According to the BBC a spokesman for Google said: "We thought you were pulling the udder one when we herd the moos, but it's clear that our automatic face-blurring technology has been a little overzealous.

"Of course, we don't begrudge this cow milking its five minutes of fame."

Google launched its street view in 2007 and has sent the internet into a spin on many occasions with everything from possible murders caught on camera to planes in strange places.