How your personal photos end up, without your knowledge, on Google images

By Laurent Calixte

At 3:56 pm on January 13, 2012

, updated at 15:56 on January 13, 2012

Read for 6 minutes.

Exclusiveness More and more Internet users stumble on the platitudes they want their friends to see, not the platitudes they want the whole world to see. Explain.

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Les bureaux de Google France

Jacques Brinon/NBC/AP/SIPA

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Imaginez la scène: vous photographiez une fête particulièrement déjantée, avec moult invités déguisés, dépoitraillés ou dans un état d’ébriété avancée, parmi lesquels votre patron direct (pourquoi pas ?), votre épouse, et vous-même. That night, as long as you enter your first name and last name, these photos can be accessed free of charge on Google Images.

Are your private photos public? This is a strange experience for Paris architect Alexander on the evening of January 10-11. "When I" Google "my name in Google Images, I saw all the personal photos I took with my Android phone! "

His family photos, his vacation photos and his bed photos. "Not only can these photos be accessed from my own computer, I can of course log into my Google account on my computer (Gmail, Google +, Picasa... Editor's note). But they can also access anyone from any PC connected to the network! Anyone can see them. . . "He said, pleading to remain anonymous. The same misfortune happened to one of Nancy's netizens, who completely collapsed: "My closest photographs are exposed to any wind," he lamented, horrified at the thought of facing the mocking gaze of those around him.

Impact of "Instant Upload" Function

How did these private photos appear on Google Images? Rappelons tout d’abord le mécanisme grâce auquel vos photos peuvent se retrouver sur le Web : si vous avez un téléphone sous Android (le “moteur” du téléphone, conçu par Google), et que lapplication Google + est installée sur votre téléphone, vos photos peuvent être envoyées vers votre compte Picasa et Google + via la fonction “Instant Upload”. Therefore, you can access it from any PC connected to the Web, which can be very convenient (even if you lose your smartphone, you can still access it from your computer).

Then, if you set these photos for public access, they can be accessed by any inhabitant of the planet. "In this case, Google thinks the photo is like a photo of a blog or website," Google France explained. Question: If the witness from Nancy remembers that he allowed free access to his photos on Picasa, then the witness from Paris does not remember that he explicitly allowed the public to access their photos.

It will take up to 6 weeks to remove them from Google

The second question: Removing photos from Picasa or Google + is not enough to immediately remove them from Google Images: They told Google France: "It is enough to remove them from Picasa, the time to remove them from Google cache (up to 6 weeks, editor's note), but there is also a specific program that can delete them faster."

Is it a coincidence that these two failures occurred on the same day that Google launched its Search My World service? This service extends the search you can do on Google to your private domain. Ainsi, si vous lancez une recherche “plage de Noirmoutier”, il fera remonter des résultats Google classiques, ainsi que toutes vos photos contenant ces termes dans leur nom ou leur descriptif -pourvu qu’elles aient été uploadées vers Picasa ou Google +. The system also tracks comments you post on Google +.

Google France explained that "Search My World" had nothing to do with the above failures, which were probably caused by the wrong photo visibility settings. Une telle corrélation serait d’autant plus impossible que, d’une part, "Search my World" n’a pour l’instant été lancé qu’aux Etats-Unis, et que, d’autre part, ce service ne peut être utilisé que si l’on s’est connecté (avec login et mot de passe) à son compte Google.

Really necessary vigilance

The last clue shows that the two events are unrelated: There have been other similar incidents before Google launched Search My World (see testimony below), and we hope to reassure people: "We have begun to study whether there are system failures or errors related to the above phenomena. But this is not the case. " For complete reassurance, check the settings of your Google, Picasa, Google + and more accounts, and make sure that the visibility level applied to your documents and photos is of your choice.

Témoignages recueillis sur le site d’entraide de Google :

QUESTION

Par Fleurpudlo, le 13/04/2011

“Je me suis aperçue avec effroi complètement par hasard, que mes photos étaient publiées sur google image bien que mes albums soient « privés », pourquoi ?! So I deleted all my photo albums on Picasa, and the photos are still visible. Why? ! I have deleted my profile now. I didn't know I had one. . . Nothing! "

Problem

PierreFromPanam, 5 September 2011

"The same thing happened to me, I didn't change anything and I was sure my account wasn't compromised. It seems that Google allows itself to do whatever it wants with our photos. "

Problem

Pasduet, 8 September 2011

Hello.

I just found out that the photo on my blog appears in a web album I never created, I don't want it, and it has settings I don't even know (categories are not listed, access is limited). If I try to delete the photo album, the message is that the photo will disappear from my blog! I never wanted to use the Picasa network, I never wanted to share my photos anywhere, in any way. I have the copyright of my latest blog. What is the solution? Thank you for your quick help.

Problem

Coucou09, 9/10/11

"I created an album with" private "and" visibility "parameters: Only you see "/+ unlisted photo album"-or my photos appear in Google search engine! As far as I am concerned, I am also very angry because these photos are private, so people show up there, and they definitely don't want to do this! I just changed my password, hoping it doesn't show up again and checking it regularly, because obviously it takes time! ! ! Thank you! ! ! ! "

REPONSE

JeanMarie J.

Bonjour,

Si certains de vos albums se sont retrouvés sur Google Images, il est très fort probable quils étaient en mode public avant dêtre en mode privé (cest une erreur courante). It is best to publish them in private mode from the beginning.

Picasa Albums Web is a photo sharing service. It is completely normal that your public photos end up in search engines. Now that your photo album is private, it can take up to 6 weeks (sometimes longer) before they disappear from the search.

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