Google Photos privacy rating

Summary

Google Photos scores 20 out of 100 (grade F) on the photo management criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: no ads or data sales. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry and independent audit. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act.

Score 20 out of 100. How scoring works

Criteria

• ✖No

  Open source ×3Weight 3 of 3

  Is all the source code needed to run the product public?

  Closed source.

• ✖No

  No trackers or telemetry ×3Weight 3 of 3

  Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?

  Google collects activity, device and usage data across its services, the Android app includes Google Firebase Analytics per Exodus Privacy, and the website loads Google Analytics (automated test).

  policies.google.com

• ✔Yes

  No ads or data sales ×2Weight 2 of 3

  Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?

  No ads in Google Photos, and Google states photos and videos are not sold or used for advertising. Extra storage is sold as a subscription.

  safety.google

• ✖No

  Independent audit ×2Weight 2 of 3

  Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?

  No independent audit is published.