Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

support.google.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 189 posts

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#161

Post by kzalesak »

dwedge wrote: post #70
JimDabell wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s even worse than that! There is no delete all feature ! So if you have 100k photos and make the mistake of saying yes to Google Photos just once , it will fill up all your storage space, block your email until you pay for extra storage, then force you to delete all your photos manually, one page at a time, before you can stop using it. I think that trap is the sleaziest thing I’ve seen Google do.

This was even more annoying when they started including whatsapp backups in your quota and sent a load of people over quota. And as far as I know there's no alternative for whatsapp backups apart from plugging in a USB cable and hoping Whatsapp don't change the method between now and when you need to restore it

It is possible to back up the WhatsApp folder if using Android, with the likes of total commander or any other file browser.

It can then be decrypted with a simple access to the _sim card_, i.e. a way to receive a message, meaning that anything backed up to Google drive should not considered safe from a dedicated state actor (even if the other party did it). It is quite easy to demonstrate with a new phone or an emulator.

I have doubts on how much the US gov needs to break the Whisper protocol when they have such easy to get side attacks.

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#162

Post by svelle »

OptionOfT wrote: post #133
throwuxiytayq wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the websites. Your browser has that popup.

If I used Chrome, I could see this happening. But it happens on both Edge & Firefox.

This happens exactly because you're not on Chrome. For some reason the sign in with Google pop up only triggers on non-chrome browsers. Especially on Firefox.

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#163

Post by theodric »

Y_Y wrote: post #144
theodric wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I leave the house, I need my ID, which is in my wallet, which also contains my debit cards. Perhaps your workflow is different, but I would gain nothing from using a wallet app, so I don't.

I find it a bit dystopian to imagine that everyone has to carry ID all the time. I know lots of countries do it, but I've never had to and I'd like to keep it that way. (I'm aware that some places I've been to require foreigners to carry passports at all times but luckily it's never been an issue.)

To be clear, I live on a farm 12km up and down small mountains from the nearest town of any consequence, and 21km from the town with a supermarket I can afford to shop at-- so if I'm leaving for anything but exercise, it's in a car, and the fine for not being able to produce my license if demanded by a cop at a traffic stop or checkpoint is around €50. They're actually not allowed to randomly check ID for no particular reason on the street in Ireland.

Even so, I think I'd prefer to keep my fondleslab and access to all my money as separate concerns. For example, were someone to grab my phone and run (in Dublin, perhaps), I would still have everything else. If I got mugged, well then, I'm getting mugged for everything either way. Plus I prefer cash whenever possible.

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#164

Post by ASalazarMX »

vertnerd wrote: post #160
ASalazarMX wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you should let your wife use Google, as it doesn't seem she's very invested in your degoogling.

It's not a matter of "letting" her do anything. She can choose to use whatever service and hardware vendors she wants, as long as she can take care of her own tech support.

Obviously I didn't mean it as her asking for permission, but as him not questioning her if she wants to go the Google route. People will make sacrifices for their significant others if they think that'll make them happier, out of their own choice.

Who would even honestly interpret it that way nowadays? This isn't the 19th century.

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#165

Post by Zopieux »

cube00 wrote: post #103

Plastering a "Back up now" pill over the top of every photo (not a header, I mean it actually covers the photo) was always a favourite of mine. Example (doesn't show it covering the photo but view a portrait photo and you'll see it): https://media.zenfs.com/en/android_police_756/2ba414b46f9732...

Bad take. This is exactly how I use non-auto-backup Photos: 99% of my shitty smartphone pictures are local only, and I don't care to lose them.

Occasionally though, I want to share or save a photo. Having this (small) button is quite convenient.

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#166

Post by hunter2_ »

qingcharles wrote: post #149
JimDabell wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s even worse than that! There is no delete all feature ! So if you have 100k photos and make the mistake of saying yes to Google Photos just once , it will fill up all your storage space, block your email until you pay for extra storage, then force you to delete all your photos manually, one page at a time, before you can stop using it. I think that trap is the sleaziest thing I’ve seen Google do.

Are Google Photos stored in Google Drive? Because Google Collab has access to Google Drive so you can write some nifty Python scripts to move your data between Drive accounts and do mass renames/deletes etc.

No, I've never seen Google Photos reflected in any Google Drive interface (web, OS integration, etc.) which on the one hand makes sense (think of Google Photos more like a database-driven black box app than a hierarchical filesystem) but on the other hand Google Drive does show gdocs, gsheets, etc. (which is also sort of a black box app, as the "files" seen in GDrive are merely lightweight stubs).

Only in storage quota views do Photos and Drive (and Gmail, etc.) commingle.

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#167

Post by a10c »

coldpie wrote: post #114
a10c wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I moved my 565GB photo library to immich about a year ago and haven't looked back. Unfortunately, convincing my wife has been a bit harder, as she has real network effects of many shared albums across a large family (30+) that all aren't going to switch the immich app so they can join her album and sync the photos. Nonetheless, a positive move in the right direction!

> my 565GB photo library I always wonder what people do with these photos. For me photos are utilitarian. I take a photo and immediately send it to my wife or friend, or upload it to my website for an article, or post it on Instagram or whatever, and then I no longer have any use for the photo on my devices. Once a year or so whenever my storage gets full, I just bulk-delete anything older than 6 months and if it has…

I am the designated family photographer. Many of those are raw files (30MB each), so admittedly a portion of them will never be seen again. Storage is cheap though, especially local storage I don't pay a cloud subscription for, so it hasn't bothered me.

And as the other child comment mentions, my rate of photo production has increased exponentially since having kids.

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#168

Post by DANmode »

Joel_Mckay wrote: post #151
DANmode wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a thread about Graphene, so not exactly accurate.

Maybe, a rickety stack of volunteers relying on uncoordinated hobby projects may have regression tested coding standards above a multi-billion dollar market-cap corporation. Or... is relying on installation obscurity for security theater. Both options are likely to have kernel and other exploits published. A disposable phone for traveling into hostile territory is still recommended. =3

Are you sure this isn’t minor YouTube celebrity Ray William Johnson? =]

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#169

Post by Joel_Mckay »

DANmode wrote: post #168
Joel_Mckay wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe, a rickety stack of volunteers relying on uncoordinated hobby projects may have regression tested coding standards above a multi-billion dollar market-cap corporation. Or... is relying on installation obscurity for security theater. Both options are likely to have kernel and other exploits published. A disposable phone for traveling into hostile territory is still recommended. =3

Are you sure this isn’t minor YouTube celebrity Ray William Johnson? =]

Would unlikely do YT content unless I needed a cheap video CDN or RTMP service.

Do people still make actual money competing with Slop clips? I wonder how often Alphabet actually cuts a meaningful check for long-tail content. =3

Re: How do I permanently disable random Google Photos popup to backup photos? (2024)

#170

Post by Plont »

svelle wrote: post #162
OptionOfT wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I used Chrome, I could see this happening. But it happens on both Edge & Firefox.

This happens exactly because you're not on Chrome. For some reason the sign in with Google pop up only triggers on non-chrome browsers. Especially on Firefox.

Is it not happening on Chrome even when you don't have the browser itself logged into a Google account?
Post reply on HN