Censoring sensitive information from images will be easier in Google Photos

The need to hide private details before sharing an image is an increasingly common requirement, and yet users of Google Photos have so far had to settle for rudimentary solutions.

A recent analysis of the application’s code has, however, revealed that the company is developing a native tool dedicated exclusively to data redaction, thereby filling an important gap compared to software from other manufacturers and promising a much cleaner and simpler editing experience.

Google Photos: hiding sensitive information will be easier

Until now, anyone who wanted to censor a phone number, an address, or a face via Google’s Photos storage service had to rely on the Pen tool, literally scribbling over the affected area. An approach decidedly not elegant and often imprecise.

However, a close examination of the app’s installation files for Android devices, and specifically the version 7.85.0.950510832, revealed the implementation of a new option.

The new “Redact” feature will sit in the image editing section, alongside tools already known such as the classic Pen, the highlighter, and the insertion of text.

The nature of the function is confirmed by a string of text present in the source code, which explicitly invites people to censor the sensitive areas of their own photographs. Despite its presence in the hidden interface, at the moment the development seems to be in an immature stage.

Attempts to interact with the dedicated button indeed cause the application to close abruptly. Due to these crashes, it is currently impossible to determine with certainty how the censorship will actually be applied.

The development team might opt for a classic blur, for a mosaic effect, for a level of pixelation, or for applying solid color bands.

The comparison with rival brands and expectations

The introduction of this novelty represents a necessary step for the app, which is currently trailing the solutions offered by other brands in the mobile world.

The Gallery app on Samsung devices, for example, has long offered its users a mosaic tool.

Even more advanced are the software integrated into OPPO and OnePlus branded smartphones, which offer a pixelation feature capable not only of manual use but also of automatically recognizing personal information present in the shot and censoring it with a simple touch.

The hope is that Google’s upcoming tool will draw inspiration from these advanced implementations, offering not only a truly adequate manual alternative, but also including a convenient intelligent data-detection system for private data.