Google Android Feature That Scans All of Your Photos Can Be Turned Off
Around this time last year, Google quietly added a service to smartphones running Android 9 called Android System Safetycore, which left many confused about what it actually did.
But when Google announced an update to Messages called Sensitive Content Warning, which is an optional setting that will automatically blur nudity — similar to Apple’s Communication Safety initiative — people began to realize what Android System Safetycore does.
ZDNET reports that Sensitive Content Warnings utilizes SafetyCore to scan images stored locally on a device. Google says that the operation runs entirely on the smartphone and no photos are shared with it — Google doesn’t even know if any nudity was found.
Researchers at GrapheneOS, an open-source mobile operating system for privacy and security, confirmed Google’s claims in a lengthy X post.
“The app doesn’t provide client-side scanning used to report things to Google or anyone else. It provides on-device machine learning models usable by applications to classify content as being spam, scams, malware, etc. This allows apps to check content locally without sharing it with a service and mark it with warnings for users,” GrapheneOS writes.
As the researchers note, SafetyCore isn’t just scanning for nudity but other types of nefarious content too, including spam and malware.
Yes, But
Nevertheless, many Android users aren’t happy that SafetyCore has been added to their devices without much of an explanation as to what it is.
As ZDNET notes, if a user has updated their system anytime since last year or bought a new device, then SafetyCore is almost certainly installed. Reviews of the app make people’s feelings clear.
“I had no idea it was legal to download without my permission or knowledge. I may look into this matter with my attorney,” writes one person.
“No warning, notice that it would be attached to the other app, or that it would be downloaded without proper notice. Proper steps were not taken to ensure I was aware before downloading. I uninstalled the app due to issues after the download occurred.”
SafetyCore doesn’t have an app icon and doesn’t appear on the phone’s of apps. In fact, it is not easy to find at all — adding to people’s suspicions about it.
“By default, Google System services automatically update your device with security, bug fixes, and new features,” Google tells ZDNET in a statement. “Some updates are delivered via system services in separate Android packages. This maintains privacy, security, and data isolation following the principle of least privilege because permissions are not shared with other functionality.”
How to Uninstall SafetyCore
To locate SafetyCore, you must find the system apps. Go to Settings > Apps > tap Show System Apps. Then scroll through to find SafetyCore and then uninstall or disable it.
Alternatively, you can review the app’s permissions and prevent it from running on anything you don’t want it to.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
