Google Photos Alternative for the Security and Privacy of Your Files

Google Photos is a popular photo storage app for anyone looking for a secure home for their memorable snapshots. Due to the app's popularity, you can automatically back up, organize, edit, and share your digital photos across all devices.

Google Photos is, therefore, a popular option for casual users looking to store their photos quickly and securely or even for the more serious photography hobbyists or professionals.

Some key features of Google Photos include:

• Automatically share photos
• A locked folder for sensitive photos
• Additional tools to create your scrapbooks, canvas, or regular prints

Nevertheless, the changes Google made in its storage policies, as well as concerns regarding its data collection practices, have caused a lot of people to look for alternative, more secure photo apps.

With that in mind, let’s look at another option you should consider to ensure you can store or share your photos securely.

Why You Should Consider an Alternative to Google Photos

Google Photos gained popularity primarily due to its generous offering of free unlimited storage. Although Google Photos still offers a generous 15GB of free storage for your snapshots, there are other concerns regarding Google and its practices.

Although Google takes steps to protect the security and privacy of user data, such as AES-256 encryption, it is not a zero-knowledge platform. In theory, Google can access your data for various purposes, including selling your data to provide targeted advertisements.

With Google having this access, it raises several concerns for users who use this platform to store their private photos, such as:

• Loss of privacy: Intimate moments shared in your photos can be used for data mining. The algorithm software analyzes your photos to gain insights about your life for targeted advertising.
• Data breaches or hacks:  Your private photos could be used in a data breach, which cybercriminals can use for a range of cybercrimes.
• Loss of control: The terms of service could cause Google to use or sell your images for promotional purposes without your knowledge and consent.

If you value the privacy of your photos, it’s imperative to choose a company, such as Internxt, that values and protects your data.

With Internxt, it takes the following measures to ensure that only you can access, view, or share your photos by implementing the following encryption methods:

• Files are client-side encrypted and fragmented into independent shards;
• Servers hold encrypted shards, never whole files. These shards are distributed to servers around the globe;
• Only you have the decryption key to retrieve the fragments and view your files.

These steps are a part of Internxt’s commitment to a zero-knowledge policy, as using these types of cryptography methods means Internxt will never store, share or sell your data or photos to third parties because they will never have access to this information.

Google Photos Features

When considering alternatives to Google Photos, some factors will make your choice more straightforward so that you can get the best from your photo storage provider. Let’s discover some of Google Photo’s most popular features and how it compares to other providers.

Google Photos offers 15GB for free, which is more generous than its competitor Apple's iCloud pricing plans. Still, other features of the app, such as account sharing or editing features, are only available on these monthly subscriptions:

Cost

• 100GB, Basic: $1.99
• 200GB, Standard: $2.99
• 2TB, Premium: $9.99

This storage is shared between Google Drive and Gmail, but for additional storage, it can be more costly than alternative cloud storage providers available.

Locked Folder

If you want ultimate security for your folders, you can store them in Google’s locked folder feature. This feature allows you to store photos with an added layer of protection, as they require a passcode, pin, or biometric authentication to access them.

To ensure that your photos remain secure in this vault, the photos you store inside this folder are not backed up to the cloud, and if you delete the Photos app, your photos inside the locked folder will be automatically deleted.

Editing and Customizing Your Photos

Photos offer some essential editing tools to adjust the lighting and color of your photos. You can do this manually or choose the app to do this for you automatically.

However, more advanced features, such as red eye removal, are unavailable, and the magic eraser, which removes unwanted objects, is only available on the Pixel 6 phone.

You can also customize your videos and add collages or Gifs to your photos. As well as this, you also have the option to make a physical photo album directly from the Google Photos app, with prices starting at $9.99.

Is Internxt More Secure than Google Photos?

Google Photos offers many perks for users who want basic editing features or AI capabilities to help organize and share photos. However, its commitment to privacy makes Internxt different from Google Photos.

If you want a company that values transparency and the security of your photos, the best option is to choose Internxt. With Internxt, you can enjoy using Drive, with up to 10GB of free storage available and plans starting at €4.99 a month for 200GB, Internxt ensures your private files and information is safe from third parties and other companies hoping to profit from your data.