Google admits that it sent private videos from Google Photos users to strangers |
Google confirmed today that some people recently received private videos from strangers uploaded to their Google Photos service.
Many users use the service (Google Images) to save photos and videos stored on their mobile phones, and Google offers users to download a copy of their data under the name Google Takeout. However, when some users use Google Takeout to download their content, they mistakenly download videos that have been downloaded (in some cases) by other users they don't know.
Google notifies some users that their videos have been downloaded by strangers. A company spokesman told CNBC: "We are reporting to users about a security issue, users who may have used Google Takeout to export their photos on Google from November 21 to 25." He added: "Maybe these users have received incomplete archives or videos (not pictures) they didn't have. We fixed the underlying problem and did a thorough analysis to prevent it. We're sorry
According to Google, less than 0.1% of users exported data during this period. It is not known how many users are actually affected. However, the affected user posted a screenshot of a message Google sent to them on Twitter.