Report: Android Vulnerable to Photo Snooping, Too

By PCMag Staff

March 1, 2012

Android users snickering at the recent flap over iOS app photo snooping may want to settle down.

That's because Google Android users are also subject to photo snooping, but without even a notification to alert users that it's possible. The New York Times issued its own report on Thursday, claiming that security experts revealed the possibility. Google Android allows those devices with Internet access to apparently upload those photos without user permission.

The Times followed up an that found that Apple iOS apps could also snoop photos stored on an iPhone. It's unclear, however, whether or not any apps have done so.

Apple faced a similar issue earlier this month with Path, when it was revealed that the iOS version of the app without user permission. of its iPhone app that lets users opt in or opt out of contact information sharing. But the issue wasn't limited to just Path–it was discovered that many other popular apps were doing the same.

For its part, Google said that it was in the process of figuring out a response.

"We originally designed the Android photos file system similar to those of other computing platforms like Windows and Mac OS," a Google spokesperson told MSNBC. "At the time, images were stored on a SD card, making it easy for someone to remove the SD card from a phone and put it in a computer to view or transfer those images.

"As phones and tablets have evolved to rely more on built-in, non-removable memory, we're taking another look at this," Google said.