Googles Photos Sharing

[JMN2]

If someone shares photos with me, can I share them forward to a 3rd party without this showing to the originator?

[swill453]

If someone shares photos with me, can I share them forward to a 3rd party without this showing to the originator?

It'll depend how they're shared. It could be that they've shared them to anyone who has a link, in which case you would be able to forward the link.

Or alternatively they may have only shared them with named persons, in which case you wouldn't be able to.

Potentially you could download the photos and forward or share them yourself, but that may have copyright issues.

Scott.

[superFoolish]

If someone shares photos with me, can I share them forward to a 3rd party without this showing to the originator?

The short answer is: one way or another, yes.

For a detailed answer, we need to know how the photo was 'shared' with you.

There are a lot of considerations that may or may not be relevant to your circumstances, but bear in mind that digital photos contain all sorts of metadata that the originator may not wish to share. For example, if the photo was taken on a mobile phone or tablet, it's almost guaranteed that the location of the photo will be stored in there.

I'll concoct a scenario whereby this could be disastrous...

Let's say an acquaintance of mine has separated from his wife; she left him because he is violent, and for their protection, she has taken their children to live in a location of which my friend is unaware. My wife is still in contact with my friend's wife, and has received an up-to-date photo of their children via email. My friend has begged me for a copy of the photo, because his wife won't communicate with him and he doesn't have any recent photos of his children. Out of a false-sense of pity, I share the photo and, bingo, I have just given my acquaintance the location of his wife's house.

To remove metadata:

Low tech (extremely safe method)
----------------------------------------
1) The low-tech, low-quality method: Assuming your current location is not a secret to anyone, is to display the photo on a screen and photograph it with another device. Then forward the photo.

or

2) Print the photo and give it to the intended recipient (or photograph the printout and forward the new digital copy)

High-tech
-----------
1) Take a screenshot of the photo, and forward the screenshot to the intended recipient.

or

2) Use a photo-utility to remove the metadata.

All the above methods assume that you are not part of a spy-ring, and that steganography is not an issue!