Cloud storage is a significant alternative for handling big amounts of images and videos from events, with Google images being the market leader. However, it’s critical to examine Google Photos’ level of security for the most sensitive data on our smartphones.
While Google employs different security procedures to protect its services, it is critical to recognize that vulnerabilities and hazards might still exist. Not only do third parties offer a risk, but Google itself may have access to and use your images or may unintentionally break their privacy.
Targeted Advertising
Google makes a lot of revenue by targeted advertising. This sort of advertising is based on the gathering and analysis of user data, such as internet activity and device behavior. Google asserts that it does not have access to photos or videos stored in Google photographs, yet customers have reported feeling monitored. For example, someone may photograph a table at a store and save it to Google Photos. The next day, they can see three Facebook advertising for tables from the same or other retailers.
These advertisements are more likely to be personalized to the user’s individual needs, increasing the likelihood of them clicking on the ad and purchasing the goods. While targeted advertising may be a useful tool for organizations, it can also pose privacy issues. If Google gets access to consumers’ photographs and videos, it may readily disclose their preferences to third-party marketing and monitoring companies.
Here are some of the privacy issues raised by targeted advertising:
Data collection: To deliver targeted advertising, a considerable quantity of user data must be collected. This information may contain personal information such as a person’s name, email address, and location. It may also contain information on the user’s online behavior, such as websites visited, and items searched for.
Data sharing: Targeted advertising businesses frequently share user data with third-party companies. This information may be used to develop user profiles and target them with advertisements.
Privacy violations: Targeted advertising may breach consumers’ privacy in a variety of ways. It may, for example, provide personal information about users to third-party corporations. Users’ internet activities might also be tracked without their knowledge or consent.
Users can protect their privacy toward targeted advertising by taking a variety of tests.
Opting out of targeted advertising: Many websites and applications allow users to choose whether or not to receive targeted advertising. This option is normally found in the website or app’s privacy settings.
Ad blockers: Ad blockers can prohibit websites from displaying targeted advertisements.
Using privacy-focused browsers: Privacy-focused browsers such as Brave and Firefox are available. These browsers prevent tracking cookies and other tracking technologies from being used.
Google’s Privacy Policy
Google is a technology powerhouse that has been hit many times for breaking user privacy regulations. The corporation has made a lot of money by gathering and analyzing user data. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has claimed that the business does not utilize data from apps that store personal information for advertising reasons, such as Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Photos. According to Google’s privacy policies, it does not sell your personal information to other firms.
However, in 2020, a law firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of individual customers against Google, claiming that the business continues to collect data even when users tell it not to utilize the Web & App Activity option. This raises the question of whether Google’s privacy policies are misleading.
Many consumers have also expressed dissatisfaction with Google’s failure to give clear and complete information about its data usage practices. Google is also susceptible to government data demands and monitoring. If Google has access to your photographs and videos, it may be obligated to provide them over to the authorities if asked.
All of this raise’s privacy issues for users, especially when unauthorized parties may misuse, manage, or access personal data on Google’s platforms.
Here are some steps people may do to preserve their privacy when using Google products:
- Strong passwords and two-factor authentication should be used.Hackers will find it more difficult to gain access to your account as a result of this.
- Only give out personal information to those you know and trust.If you do disclose personal information, be sure it is only with individuals you trust.
- Take caution with the information you post online.If you are concerned about your privacy, you should use a privacy-focused browser like Brave or Firefox. These browsers prevent tracking cookies and other tracking technologies from being used.
- Make use of a VPN. A VPN encrypts your traffic, making third-party tracking of your internet activities more difficult.
Glitches
In 2019, a problem in Google Photos caused some users’ private movies to be shared with other users. A “technical issue” in Google Takeout, a service that allows customers to obtain data from Google, created the glitch. Between November 21 and November 25, 2019, the problem occurred.
Google did not address the bug publicly or offer statistics on the amount of movies posted or users affected. However, Jon Oberheide of Duo Security released an image of an email from Google that exposed the details of the flaw on Twitter. According to the email, the problem allowed some users’ private movies to be shared with other people.
Google silently sent impacted consumers an email warning them of the flaw and provided guidance on how to safeguard their privacy. Google has now patched the flaw, but the event highlights the necessity of understanding the risks of storing personal data online.
Here are some suggestions for safeguarding your privacy when using Google Photos:
- Only show your images to those you know and trust.
- Strong passwords and two-factor authentication should be used.
- Take careful with the information you put in your images.
- Back up your images on a regular basis to an external hard drive or a cloud storage service.
Malware and phishing
You may share photos and albums with others by creating a link in Google photos. Anyone who has access to the connection can browse the photographs or albums. This is a quick method to share images with friends and family, but it also introduces privacy and security risks.
If a hacker acquires the link to a Google Photos album, they may upload harmful photos to it. The virus will be placed on your device if you click on one of these photos. The infection might then provide the hacker with access to your device, including your personal files, passwords, and other sensitive data.
In addition to directly sharing links to Google Photos albums, hackers can also trick you into clicking on malicious links. For example, send you an email or text message that looks to be from a reputable source, such as a friend or business. The email or text message may include a link to a Google Photos album that appears to have intriguing or significant material. The virus will be installed on your device if you click on the link.
To stay out of these risks, you should be careful about who you share Google Photos connections with. Clicking on links in emails or text messages from individuals you don’t know is equally risky. If you’re unsure whether a link is secure, hover your cursor over it to view the complete URL. If the URL appears strange, do not click on it.
Here are some more ideas to protect your privacy and security when using Google Photos:
- For your Google account, use strong passwords and two-factor authentication.
- Take careful with the information you put in your images.
- Back up your images on a regular basis to an external hard drive or a cloud storage service.
Hacking
Google photos is a well-known cloud storage service that lets users save, share, and edit photos and videos. Google Photos, like any other internet service, is vulnerable to hackers. A security researcher uncovered a weakness in Google photographs in 2019 that might have given hackers access to users’ photographs and videos. A flaw in the way Google Photos manages picture metadata prompted the vulnerability. Metadata is information recorded with an image file that might contain the date and time the photo was shot, the camera type used, and the location where the photo was taken.
The vulnerability allows hackers to use this metadata to deduce the location of photos stored in Google photos. Hackers might have exploited this to track users’ movements or to target them with tailored advertising. Google has now addressed the issue; however users should be mindful of the dangers associated with utilizing any online service.
Here are some tips for protecting your privacy when using Google Photos:
- create a strong password for your Google account,
- Make two-factor authentication available for your Google account.
- Take care with the photos and videos that you post.
- Do not click on links in emails or texts from strangers.
- Maintain the most recent version of the Google Photos app.
In addition to the vulnerability defined above, there are other possible security dangers connected with utilizing Google Photos. For example, if your Google account is hacked the hacker will have access to all of your photographs and videos saved in Google photos. Furthermore, if you share your photographs or videos with others, they might be accessed by unauthorized individuals.
If you are concerned about the security of your photographs and videos, you might consider choosing an alternative cloud storage provider with more powerful security measures.
Also Read 7 Harmful Effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – WARNING.
This article is to help you learn How to use Google Photos safely. We trust that it has been helpful to you. Please feel free to share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
Exploring the Top 5 Privacy and Security Risks of using Google Photos