Reclaiming Privacy: How I Got Rid of Google Photos

I am a privacy nerd in many areas. Since discovering privacytools.io, I have been on a mission to replace all Google services I use.

One big skeleton that I had in my closet until recently is Google Photos. But that’s finally over!

Why I Decided to Stop Using Google Photos

My wife and I have consistently stored all photos taken on our phones directly with Google. It was just super convenient. It’s quickly set up and works flawlessly.

The decisive factor in finally getting rid of this Google service, is mainly the current AI hype: Google uses all the photos to train their AI models.

In plain language, this means: All photos of my wife, all photos of my children and all photos of me are the training basis of a future AI model.
And this also means that this AI can then generate photos of my wife, my children and me at will. And the more I think about it, the creepier I find this idea.

The Perfect Alternative

So a good alternative had to be found quickly. In our case, it became ente.io.

Ente.io is almost a clone of Google Photos, but with one crucial difference: All photos are end-to-end-encrypted. This means that while our pictures are secured on ente.io’s servers, they were already encrypted on our phones.

Even a shady system admin from ente.io would have no benefit from looking into the database; because there he only finds encrypted data. And the key to these data is only on our phones.

Synchronization works flawlessly via the ente.io app.
You can create folders for collectively collecting event photos into which other people can upload photos without having to create an account.
There is also a search for photo content. However, this must first be activated and the index built up. This, of course, runs locally, without the cloud.

Conclusion

Often, you have to accept a few disadvantages when you detach yourself from Google, because objectively speaking, Google services are very good and convenient. In this case, however, we notice no difference in everyday life from before. But we have regained a large part of our privacy.