Hi everyone,
I’m a Local Guide based in mainland China, and I’ve encountered a recurring issue while trying to contribute Street View imagery via the Street View app and Google Maps.
The problem is not with the camera or app itself — it’s with the location accuracy.
Due to China’s use of the GCJ-02 (Mars coordinate) system, there’s a noticeable offset between actual GPS locations and where the images get placed on Google Maps, which uses WGS84. As a result:
- My Street View photospheres or images often show up dozens of meters away from the correct spot.
- The app doesn’t allow me to manually select or correct the location before uploading.
- There’s no option to input precise coordinates during the upload process.
This makes it very difficult to contribute useful and accurate imagery in many parts of China. I’ve seen other users’ contributions correctly placed, which makes me wonder if there are any workarounds or known solutions — maybe uploading through other tools or platforms?
If there was an option to:
- Enter the correct coordinates manually;
- Or reposition photos after uploading;
- Or if the app could auto-adjust GPS info to match China’s coordinate system;
That would make a huge difference for contributors here.
Is anyone else in China (or similar regions with offset GPS) experiencing this?
Would love to hear your experiences and any suggestions.
Hoping Google Maps and the Street View team can help improve this process for users in coordinate-offset zones.
Thanks a lot