Comparing Google to Big Brother has become a tradition. As the all-seeing eye and global information engine, Google has access to millions of photos and files, extracting vast amounts of data to feed its systems. With each passing year, machines grow more sophisticated, and AI systems become more intelligent. However, many users remain unaware of how much information Google extracts from their uploaded content.
That’s where tools like They See Your Photos, created by former Google engineer Vishnu Mohandas, come in. Mohandas left Google in 2020 to found Ente, an alternative to Google Photos offering end-to-end encryption and open-source functionality. While Ente hasn’t yet achieved the success he hoped for, Mohandas developed this small website to showcase the level of detail Google can extract from photos.
The site uses the Google Vision API. You upload an image, and the site returns an analysis, including a complete description of what’s visible in the image and some metadata, such as location, time, and the device used to take the photo.
The level of detail is staggering. Google identifies objects, describes people in the foreground, and even provides insights into those in the background. Descriptions go beyond appearances or expressions, offering inferences that are sometimes surprising.
Notably, the tool doesn’t recognize specific individuals, which would raise significant privacy concerns for Google. For example, uploading a photo of Google’s cofounder Sergey Brin might result in a description like “caucasian” and “intelligent” based on pose—assumptions that can be biased in many contexts.
If you’d like to try this tool, visit They See Your Photos. The site provides four stock images for testing without requiring you to upload personal photos. When you upload an image, it’s run through Google Vision’s filter.
This tool offers just a glimpse of what Google might detect in your photos. Keep in mind, however, that Google likely collects much more information, as this tool doesn’t account for all available metadata.
While you may upload random images to this site, Google Photos organizes collections by dates, people, acquaintances, and accounts. This small website serves as a reminder of the extensive knowledge big companies can glean from our photos once uploaded to their platforms.
Image | Victoria Knopf (Unsplash)
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