Apple and Google now scan the photos of your mobile without warning: so you can deactivate it

Have you ever felt that your mobile knows more about you than it should? Maybe you are looking for a product and suddenly the ads chase you everywhere. Now, restlessness goes beyond navigation data. Apple and Google have activated functions that scan images on your device without prior notice. Innovation or invasion?

First it was Apple with her Enhanced Visual Searchwhich analyzes photos to identify places and objects without the user know. Now it is Google with Safetycorean Android function which examines images on the device to detect sensitive content. Google insists that you do not share this data with anyone, but the problem is another: the lack of transparency.

What worries is not only technology, but the way it is introduced into our devices. No warning, without prior consent option. Is this the price of artificial intelligence in our mobiles?

Safetycore: the Google scanner that no one asked

Google has installed silently Safetycore In millions of Android devices since October 2024. Sor official purpose is to classify images and detect unwanted content without sending them to Google servers. That is, the analysis occurs on the user’s mobile, which supposedly guarantees greater privacy.

The problem is that users were not informed. According to ZDNETif you have a mobile with Android 9 or later, it is almost certain that Safetycore It is already working on your device without you know. There is no notification, nor a warning after an update. It simply appeared in the system, enabled by default.

This is similar to what Apple did with Enhanced Visual Searchalthough in your case the objective It was the recognition of images to improve the user experience. The question is not only what these functions do, but the way they are imposed.

Is it really private if we can’t check it?

Google states that Safetycore Do not share data with anyone and that only works when an application requests it. In theory, this is an advance in privacy: Before, content scan occurred on Google servers; Now, in the mobile itself.

However, there is a great lagoon: it is not open source. Security experts, such as those of Grapheneos, warn that without access to the code, there is no way to verify if Google really fulfills his word. All we have is your statement.

This is not a minor detail. Other privacy technologies, as Signal or the Graphenean Operating Systemthey are open source precisely so that the community can audit their operation. When a company like Google or Apple introduces tools of this type without transparency, distrust is generated.

How to deactivate Safetycore in Android

If this news has made you lift an eyebrow and prefer to deactivate Safetycorethere is a way to do it.

1. Open the Settings of your mobile.
2. Go to Applications and then a See all applications.
3. Seeks Safetycore On the list.
4. If you have the option, select Disable either Uninstall.

Not all devices allow it to disable it, but in many cases it is possible. If it does not appear on the list, it may be hidden or that Google has restricted its deactivation in your specific model.