Guide: How to Verify if Google Photos Are Private
Google Photos is a well-known photo storage service. Although it excels at its job, people get confused about its operation. Many wonder what the privacy of their photos in Google Photos is: are they private or visible to everyone? And if they are visible to the public, how to make sure Google Photos is private? That’s what we’ll tell you in this post. Google Photos is pre-installed on phones with Stock Android. But you can install it on other Android phones also and even the iPhone. You can also access the images from the web version available at photos.google.com. Now let’s take a look how to make sure your photos are private in Google Photos.
How do I know if my images in Google Photos are private?
For that, you need to understand how Google Photos works. When you install or open the Google Photos app, you will notice that it has your Google account. That’s where everyone starts to worry about the privacy of their photos. Basically, Google Photos is a backupup- and sync service and no social network. And that’s why it needs a Google account to back upup to create and synchronize your data. However, you can use it on your phone even without an account. Google Photos performs four functions and that affects the privacy of your photos. Note: Speaking of privacy, boost your privacy with a premium VPN service. Guiding Tech users can get an exclusive 70% discount on a 3-year NordVPN subscription, so give it a try.
Google Photos as a gallery app
First, it acts as a gallery app on your phone, with the images and videos available on the phoneEven if the Google account is connected, don’t worry because the photos are private. Yes, unless you have the backupup turns on feature, all your photos on you phone are private. So you don’t have to do anything to make them private as they are only private by default.
Google Photos as a backup tool
Second, it works as a photo backup service. Only if you have the backupup turns on feature in the Google Photos app, your photos will be uploaded to the Google Photos cloud. You can also add photos from the web version of Google Photos. Again, the photos are still private even if their backupup is in the cloud. No one but you can see them. In this case, you do not have to change any privacy or security settings in Google Photos.
Google Photos as a sync tool
Besides backing up your photos, it continuously synchronizes your existing data between different connected devices. That’s what you should pay attention to. This means that anything already available on the Google Photos server (or added via the connected Google accounts) will automatically be visible in the Google Photos app on your phone with the same Google account.
For example, if you add your Google account to your friend’s phonethen they can access the photos in your Google Photos account. Likewise if you install Google Photos on your secondary computer phone and log in with the same Google account phone, then the backupup from photos of the first phone will sync with the second phone automatically. In that case, there’s nothing you can do other than add your Google account to someone else phoneOnce you’ve done that, you’ll need their Google account phone
Google Photos as a sharing tool
The only common way others can see your Google photos is to share them by sharing them features provided by Google Photos. Note: Only the photos that have a backupup is made up can be shared. If the backup feature is turned off and you share a photo, it will first be uploaded to Google Photos. We will not go into sharing features offered by Google Photos, as we covered them in detail in our separate post. However, for reference, we’ll briefly tell you the different ways to share and how to make sure the shared photos are safe. There are three methods of sharing photos via Google Photos:
Share with other Google Photos users Share via Google Photos link Share via partner account
In all three cases, the other person can share your shared photos with more people. This can be done by sharing links feature from Google Photos or by downloading them. The latter needs no explanation. When it comes to links, every image or video in Google Photos has a unique link. If you share the link, anyone who has access to that link will be able to view the photo. For example, if you share with your friend A and share A with their friend B, then B can see the photo. The image link can also be generated for each shared photo.
How to Make sure images in Google Photos are private
Fortunately, you can keep track of people who have access to your photos and what they can see. Tip To hide Google Photos from you phone, you must archive them. To do that, open the Google Photos app and tap the Share tab at the bottom. Here you can see all the shared photos. Tap the album name. In the album you can see the people who have access to your photos.
Tap the three-dot icon at the top and select Options. You can also tap the profile pictures icon to access the sharing options. To turn off sharing, turn off the switch next to Share
Note: If someone has the link after you turn off sharing, the photos won’t open for them. But if the person has already downloaded the photos, there’s nothing you can do. Also in the case of the partner accounts, you will see the shared photos in the Share section. You must delete the partner to stop sharing the images. Read in detail what a partner account is and how to create or delete it. Note: You can also view the sharing settings in the web version of Google Photos.
Tips for privacy on Google Photos
Keep checking the Share tab Share only photos with trusted people Once photos have been shared, turn off sharing Do not add photos to an unknown shared album
Try Google Photos Alternative
To wrap it up, Google Photos does not offer any special privacy or security settings because the photos are private by default unless you share them. If you like Google Photos but aren’t comfortable with backing up or sharing feature, you should try the offline version on Android known as Gallery Go. It is a lightweight alternative from Google Photos that offers comparable features but without internet. So your photos are safe and private. The next up: Not happy with the Google Photos app and considering removing it? Know what will happen if you delete Google Photos from your phone using the following link.
How to Verify if Google Photos Are Private: benefits
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