Google started checking your photos in the gallery — details

When Google added the SafetyCore framework to Android, the company was accused of "secretly" installing monitoring technology without user consent. At the time, the search giant assured that the platform only creates a secure environment for local content classification, and the photos themselves are not analysed until the application requests this feature.

Forbes writes about it.

Google takes first step towards scanning user content

Now the moment has come. Sensitive Content Warning appears in Google Messages: the app automatically blurs nude images, deeming them potentially harmful, and offers to view the photo or block the number. The algorithms work without the need to send them — scanning takes place directly on the device, and the data, according to Google, is not transferred to servers.

The independent GrapheneOS project has confirmed that SafetyCore does not send customer scans to Google or third parties. Using local machine learning models, applications can identify spam, fraud, or malware and flag content for the user without sharing data with the network. At the same time, GrapheneOS regrets that the SafetyCore modules, as well as the models themselves, remain closed.

"We'd have no problem with having local neural network features for users, but they'd have to be open source," it is said in their message.

The new tool is still disabled by default for adult users and is active for children's accounts. In Google Messages, it can be enabled manually: "Settings" — "Safety and Security" — "Manage sensitive content warnings". For children, changes can only be made through their accounts or Family Link.

Obviously, this is only the beginning. The feature is being launched at a time when governments and intelligence agencies are pressuring companies to access encrypted data. Every step towards automatic scanning is met with resistance from privacy advocates, who point out that even local tools can gradually expand the scope of surveillance.

So far, the algorithms are formally only valid on devices, but other Google updates may not have such a guarantee. It means that the three billion users of Android, Gmail, and other services will have to determine for themselves where the line between security and privacy lies.

As a reminder, Google Photos has received the feature that converts ordinary photos into the new UltraHDR format. Smartphone owners can "revive" old shots without complicated editing or special equipment.

We also wrote that the new fraud campaign is spreading on Google Gmail. Attackers send legitimate-looking emails from the address no-reply@accounts.google.com, which contain links to data-stealing pages.