Google’s Photo Scanning Explained: Secure Your Images in Seconds

Frederick Nyame

February 26, 2025

Apple and Google have both faced backlash for quietly adding new AI features to phones without telling users. People are not upset about the technology itself but about the lack of transparency.

Apple’s Hidden Photo Scanning

A few weeks ago, Apple users discovered that their photos were being scanned by Apple Intelligence to identify landmarks. Apple had not informed them about this feature. Security experts criticized the company for enabling it without clear communication.

Apple’s Enhanced Visual Search sends parts of photos to Apple’s servers to compare them with a global database. The process is designed to protect privacy, but many users felt betrayed. Cryptography expert Matthew Green expressed frustration, saying it was shocking to find out the feature was already enabled without prior notice.

Google’s Silent SafetyCore Update

Now, Google is facing a similar issue with SafetyCore. This is a system update that adds on-device image scanning to Android phones. Google says it helps detect and blur sensitive content while keeping everything private and secure. Unlike Apple’s feature, this scanning happens entirely on the device.

However, the problem is not what the feature does, but how Google added it. Most users had no idea SafetyCore was being installed on their phones. It arrived silently in a background update. Many only learned about it after security experts started discussing it.

Why People Are Concerned

When companies add new features secretly, it raises doubts. Even if Google claims SafetyCore doesn’t report data to its servers, people still worry. Could Google later update it to scan and report certain content?

Security-focused developers at GrapheneOS believe SafetyCore is mostly harmless. It helps apps detect spam, scams, and malware locally on the device. But they also criticize Google for keeping it closed-source. If it were open-source, developers could verify what it actually does.

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Google has defended SafetyCore, saying it only works when an app requests it and users can disable it. But the real issue is trust. If users don’t know about a feature, how can they be sure it respects their privacy?

Read Also: Gurman: Apple To Delay Siri AI Launch To May With iOS 18.5 Update

How to Disable Photo Scanning in Google Photos

Google Photos automatically scans photos for various purposes, like organizing them, creating search tags, and enabling features like facial recognition. While you can’t completely disable all scanning, you can limit certain aspects. Here’s how:

1. Disable Facial Recognition/Group Similar Faces:

On Android/iOS:
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Tap your profile picture/initial in the top right corner.
- Go to “Photos settings.”
- Tap “Group similar faces.”
- Toggle off “Face grouping.”
On the Web (photos.google.com):
- Click the settings gear icon in the top right corner.
- Scroll down to “Group similar faces” and toggle it off.

The Bigger Lesson for Tech Companies

According to ZDNet, almost every updated Android phone since October has SafetyCore installed. But Google never told users about it. The same issue happened with Apple’s photo scanning. Users found out after the feature was already running.

For both Apple and Google, the lesson is clear. If you add AI-powered features to people’s devices, tell them first. Give them the choice to turn it on or off. If you don’t, people will feel like they’ve lost control over their own phones.

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Forbes