Virtual Street View Graffiti

I Was Here is a great idea that, at least for now, doesn’t quite live up to its full potential.

At its core, the app uses panoramic imagery to create virtual graffiti walls around the world. Users can select a Street View-style panorama and draw directly onto the image. Those drawings persist, meaning anyone else who visits the same panorama will see what’s been left behind. In that sense, it feels a bit like r/place or Wplace, but layered onto real-world locations.

The app currently relies on Mapillary panoramas, with roughly 2,000 locations available to draw on. This is where I Was Here begins to fall short. The number of accessible locations is quite limited, which restricts both creativity and exploration. To really gain traction, it would likely need to open up the entire world -something that would probably require integration with Google Maps Street View rather than Mapillary. Of course, that would come with significant costs, which likely explains the current approach.

Even so, I Was Here remains a fun and intriguing experiment in virtual graffiti. There’s a genuine appeal in being able to leave your mark - however small - on real-world scenes.

Of course, the open nature of the platform comes with the usual caveats. Some users will inevitably draw crude or offensive content, so don’t be surprised if you encounter the occasional immature sketch or inappropriate language. The site does have moderation in place, and apparently a 'report' button exists (although I haven't found it yet).