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Google Starts Scanning All Your Photos As New Update Goes Live (www.forbes.com)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Google confirms its latest update can scan all your photos to “use actual images of you and your loved ones” in AI image generation. That means Gemini seeing who you know and what you do. You likely have tens or hundreds of thousands of photos. They’re all exposed if you update.

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[–] 80 points 6 months ago (17 children)

Does it matter if you don't update? I imagine they already have it on their servers, which is where I imagine the photos are mostly processed.

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  • [–] 82 points 6 months ago (14 children)

    Since decades, Google Photos is cloud storage. Update or no, they already got your photos for this.

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  • [–] 51 points 6 months ago (9 children)

    The more offensive part is, Google Photos is not only the default image viewer on (Google's) Android, but (Google's) Camera app will only open pictures in it too. So it's cloud crap that's also literally programmed into a lot of people's cameras.

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  • [–] 41 points 6 months ago (7 children)

    Check out https://github.com/CaramelFur/GPhotosShim which stops GCam from using Photos. This is why my gOS uses GCam with network denied (because it works way better on Pixels than the OSS equivalent).

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    I tried this and a recommended fork just now, but I don't think you can use it unless you fully remove the default provider first. I have a locked phone and I think that makes it impossible for me

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Look at adb or LineageOS, otherwise make sure to factor it in for your next phone (second hand + a new battery replacement pack from iFixit works well these days, not as bad as you think doing it, Pixels 8 and above get 7 years of security updates).

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    The phone in question is the HMD Skyline, which gets a 9/10 on iFixit (and is a 0/10 on the software side, which they conveniently left out)

    I'll live without it and probably trade in the repairable phone (lol) but it really is a bummer

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago

    I never activated cloud storage for Google Photos. Whenever I open it for some reason, it complains about it. I need something non-shittified to go through my gallery, just haven't looked for it very much yet.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    What are you saying? I have a samsung and nothing is backed up to google drive. In fact i just checked after reading the article. Is there another place they backup or are you talking about the backup?

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  • [–] 8 points 6 months ago*

    Samsung has their own proprietary Camera app, and its own proprietary Gallery app. The Google issue probably doesn't apply to you, but even though they're better than Google options, you're still locked in too.

    Your mileage may vary depending on the third-party cellphone manufacturer, but everything I've seen (Google or Samsung based) has been locked in and paired on an OS that was once beloved for having interchangeable components.

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