Are the Photos from Google Photos Safe? How to Make Google Photos Private
Last Updated on May 4, 2022 by Peter Wood
When you save some important photos on Google Photos, you might wonder whether it is safe to keep the photos from the prying eyes? How to make your Google Photos private? Google Photos is more than an important Cloud service to save photos and videos, which enables you to view the photos, edit the files and share them to different platforms. Just learn more about the different methods to make the Google Photos private with ease from the article now.
Part 1: Are the Photos from Google Photos Private
Google Photos is a versatile photo gallery app, which enables you to back up all photos on your iPhone or Android phone. Are the photos in Google Photos private and safe?
Generally speaking, no one can access the photos and videos without the correct ID and password. Does it mean that you do not need to make Google Photos private? Here are some scenarios you should have to pay special attention to.
1. Shared Photos via Links
Google Photos does allow you to share photos via links. All shared photos are open to the public, even though they are only shared with specific people. When you share a photo in Google Photos, Google creates a link and sends it to the recipient. Anyone who gets the link can see your photo.
2. Google Photos Account
As the Cloud service, there are still chances to break into the Cloud service to check the photos. Moreover, your friends or family can access the photos from Google Photos easily within the app. It is the reason that Google Photos has some default features to make Google Photos private.
Part 2: How to Hide Private Photos Using Google Photos
If you turn on the automatic backup feature in Google Photos or do it manually on one of your devices, it will sync to the other devices with the same Google account. To make your Google Photos private, you can also take advantage of the Archive feature.
How to Hide Private Photos on Google Photos on Mobile
When you have some private photos on your smartphone, you can backup and sync them to Google Photos back. To hide your private photos on the Google Photos app, you can follow the steps below.
Step 1: Open Google Photos app on your smartphone and find the photos and videos that you want to hide. Tap the More menu with a three-dot icon at the top-right corner.
Step 2: Choose the Archive option on the context menu. As for the case, your photos will disappear in the standard albums to make photos on Google Photos private.
Step 3: Whenever you want to view your private photos on Google Photos, tap the Menu button with a three-line icon and select the Archive option to open the hidden album. Then you will see your photos.
Note: To make your photo albums private in Google Photos, you should check the Settings on each album. Make sure to disable the Share album and enable the Remove Geo-Location in Items Shared by Link.
How to Hide Private Photos on Google Photos on Computer
When you use Google Photos on your computer, you can hide private photos with the web browser. Just use a similar process to add the photos to the Archive folder of Google Photos.
Step 1: Go to https://photos.google.com/ in your browser and sign in to your account.
Step 2: Find the photo you intend to make private in Google Photos, and click on it to open the large version.
Step 3: Next, press the three-dot icon at the upper right side, and choose Archive to move the private photo to the Archive folder.
Note: To unhide the private photo in Google Photos, go to the Archive folder, select the desired photo, click the three-dot icon and choose Unarchive.
Part 3: Best Method to Make Google Photos Private on PC/Mac
It just hides your photos and videos into a separate album instead of password protecting the media files. The photos are still accessible from the shared link or Google Photos account, when you want to hide them and make Google Photos private completely. WidsMob MediaVault is the desired photo vault app that enables you to protect photos and videos from Google Photos with a password. It supports JPEG, PNG, BMP, HEIC, MOV, MP4, and most of the RAW file formats from most of the devices. Moreover, you can also manage the photos and videos, browse them directly within the program, and even set up the different security levels for the private media files.
- Hide your photos and videos from Google Photos private with a password.
- Lock private photos using military-level AES-256 encryption technology.
- Work on a wide range of image formats, like RAW, MP4, HEIC, and more.
- Playback the locked photos and videos in the different browsing modes.
How to Make Photos from Google Photos Private
Step 1: Install the Google Photos vault
Once you have installed the photo vault, you can launch the program on your PC/Mac. After that, you can enter your password and type in again, and then click the Done button to confirm. You’d better write down the password since it is the only method to access your private photos.
Step 2: Tweak the different parameters
To adjust the security level, you can simply click the File menu and choose the Settings option. Go to the Security tab and switch between Standard and High. Moreover, you can also change or reset the password within the program.
Step 3: Make photos from Google Photos private
Click the Import Files button or the Import Folder button to import the photos and videos from Google Photos. Right-click the Add To Album option to transfer to make a private album for Google Photos.
Step 4: View your private photos and videos
Whenever you want to view your private photos from Google Photos, locate the specific album, and double click the file. Now, you can use Esc and other keys on your keyboard to control the playback.
Part 4: FAQs about Making Google Photos Private
All photos you upload to Google Photos are private by default. But when you share the links with others, if a random person were to get that link, they can see the shared photo. It is the reason that you should make the photos in Google Photos private.
Check the Sharing settings on each album you create. Check the Sharing settings on your account to keep things as private as you want. Make sure to turn on the Remove Geo-Location in Items Shared by Link. Of course, you should not share the links to the photos with anyone unknown.
You can add a partner account in Google Photos. By doing so, certain photos depending on the set conditions will be shared automatically with your partner. Of course, you can also use Snapchat or other applications to make the pictures from Google Photos private.
Conclusion
You should understand whether Google Photos makes photos private and how to hide your photos in the cloud. It cannot be denied that Google Photos is a convenient method to back up and store your photos. Then you can access them on any device with your account. However, as a cloud service, the data leak is a big problem. If you want to save your photos on a local hard drive, WidsMob MediaVault is an advanced photo vault program that can protect your photos with a password on Windows and Mac.