Picsafeimages without risk: a guide to photos and privacy

An independent guide to handling images safely. It is not a photo hosting site or a service, does not store files and is not connected with the former website on this domain.

Guides

Practical guides

The first article in this section is about family photos. You want to show them to everyone at once: grandparents, friends, colleagues. Yet it is home photos that most often reveal an address, a school, a daily routine and the faces of people who never asked to be public. Below is a sequence of steps that helps you share the joy without revealing too much.

The family album used to sit in a cupboard and come out when guests arrived. Today it can open for anyone who happens to have the link, so deciding who gets to see it deserves the same thought we once gave to deciding whom to invite into our home.

— Editor's view

What to prepare in advance

  • A separate folder for the photos you plan to send, so you do not have to go through the whole album every time.
  • A list of recipients: which relatives and friends really want to see the photos and how they prefer to receive them.
  • An understanding of where location recording is switched on and off on your device.
  • A family agreement on which photos of the children may be shown beyond your close circle.
  • A place for full-size originals, such as a computer or an external drive, where they are kept separately from the copies you send.
  • A little time: rushing is the main reason things that should not be shown end up in the frame.

  1. Pick your photos

    First decide which shots are worth sending at all. From a series of similar photos, choose the best one or two: the recipient will enjoy a short selection more, and it is easier for you to check.

    Hypothetical example: after a birthday party there are forty similar shots on the phone, and six go to the family chat, showing the cake, the guests and the birthday child without a messy face.

  2. Examine the whole frame

    Run your eyes along the edges and the background. Look for house number signs, number plates, documents on the table, a screen with an open conversation, reflections in windows and mirrors.

    Hypothetical example: in a photo taken by the front door, the address is clearly readable behind the children, so the shot is cropped slightly before sending.

  3. Remove the geotag

    Check the file's properties: if coordinates are recorded there, delete them or send a copy without metadata. For home photos, it is better to keep the camera's location recording switched off.

    Hypothetical example: a photo from the new playground in the courtyard is sent without coordinates so that it cannot be used to find the house.

  4. Ask the people in the frame

    Ask adult relatives and friends whether they mind others seeing the photo. Older children are worth asking too: they already have their own opinion about how they look.

    Hypothetical example: a teenager asks the family not to forward a photo from a competition where they fell, and the family picks a different shot.

  5. Prepare a copy

    A smaller JPEG version is usually enough for sharing. It opens quickly, does not clog the recipient's storage and does not contain detail that is only needed for printing.

    Hypothetical example: holiday photos are resized before being sent to grandma, and she opens them on her old tablet without waiting.

  6. Choose the channel and access

    A private message or a closed shared album is safer than a public page. If you send a link, check who can open it and do not post it where strangers will see it.

    Hypothetical example: a shared graduation album is open only to the parents of the class, not to everyone who happens to have the address.

  7. Keep the originals

    Move the full-size photos into your home archive and make a backup. The copies you sent do not replace the original: they are compressed and can disappear along with the conversation.

    Hypothetical example: at the end of each month all photos are moved from the phone to a computer, and from there to an external drive kept at the grandparents' home.

  8. Review older posts

    Every so often, look through your open albums and links. What was fine to show a few years ago may be too much today, and such a photo is better made private or deleted.

    Hypothetical example: before their child starts school, parents close an old public album with photos of the child in the bath.

Common mistakes

  • Sending a photo right after taking it without looking at the background and the edges of the frame.
  • Assuming that a link for anyone who has the address is the same as restricted access.
  • Leaving the geotag on photos taken at home, in the courtyard or near a school.
  • Showing a wide audience photos of children in swimsuits, in tears or in awkward situations.
  • Posting group photos without asking the people in them.
  • Keeping the only copy of the family archive on a single phone.
  • Deleting the originals in the belief that the copies you sent are enough.

Other options

  • Instead of posting publicly, send the photos in a private message or a closed family group.
  • If you would rather not show your child, choose a shot from behind, from a distance or of festive details instead of the face.
  • For older relatives, you can print a few of the best photos: a paper print needs no links or passwords.
  • Instead of dozens of separate files, put together one small album and send it as a whole.

Check yourself

  • Only the shots that are really worth showing have been selected.
  • The background and edges have been checked for addresses, documents and reflections.
  • The files contain no coordinates of where they were taken.
  • The people in the frame know about the post and do not object.
  • Smaller copies have been prepared for sending.
  • It is clear who can open the link or album.
  • The originals have been moved to the home archive.
  • The archive has at least one backup kept outside the home.

Article catalogue for English-speaking readers

This is where standalone articles on handling images safely will be collected: photo privacy, formats and quality, rights to pictures and keeping a photo archive. We write them specifically for the English version of the guide and aim to make each one something you can put into practice the same day.

What we are working on

  • Screenshots of chats and emails: what to blur before you show them to anyone else.
  • Holiday photos: why it is worth waiting until you are home before posting where you are.
  • Crediting a photographer: how to attribute an image clearly without spoiling it.
  • Digitising old prints: how to turn a family album into digital files without losing anything.
  • Reverse image search: how to find out whether your photo is being used without permission.

Editorial rules

  • Articles in this catalogue are written separately for each language version and are not translations.
  • Some articles link to third-party websites, including gaming services; we do not control their content, prices or terms.
  • We do not store files or publish advertising for services, apps or shops, rankings, prices or reviews.
  • Questions

    Short answers about geotags, image quality, formats, copyright and photos of other people.

  • Collections

    Reading paths: checking a photo before posting, photos of children and a home archive without losses.

  • Metadata (in Russian)

    A note about the old address and a primer on metadata: what a photo file reveals about the shot and how to remove it.

  • Sections

    The guide's four topics: photo privacy, file formats and size, image rights and keeping a photo archive.

Sources

  • EXIF metadata format specification (general provisions)
  • Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Article 152.1

This information is a general overview as of the date it was prepared. Devices and software are updated, so the names of settings and menu items on yours may look different. Legal information is given for general guidance only: if a dispute arises, it is best to consult a lawyer.