No, Google Is Not Scanning All the Images on Your Android Phone

You may have recently stumbled upon an app called “Android System SafetyCore” in your battery stats or while digging through app permissions. It sounds important and a bit scary, but it’s not as worrisome as you might think.

What is Android System SafetyCore?

The fact that parents have to grapple with is you can’t simply keep kids offline forever. That’s why Android offers parental controls, like Google Family Link, but these don’t always address the risks associated with receiving sensitive images. That’s where Google’s new Sensitive Content Warnings via the Android System SafetyCore app come in.

These warnings, coming to Google Messages, were announced in October 2024. The idea is to identify and blur potentially nude images before they’re viewed. The recipient then encounters what Google calls a “speed bump” with resources and options, including the choice to view the content. The same “speed bump” appears when sending, receiving, or forwarding the offending images. This feature is optional for adults but will be opt-out for minors.

Behind the scenes, the new Android System SafetyCore app powers these warnings. This app, which people have recently been noticing appear on their devices, is described as a “system service that provides safety features for Android devices.” It’s designed to offer on-device protection while preserving user privacy–”on-device” being the important part to note.

What Doesn’t It Do?

As people have started to notice the SafetyCore app appearing on their devices, there’s been confusion about what it actually does. Some have claimed it’s similar to when Apple was scanning all images on iPhones in the name of CSAM detection–but that never actually happened.

In reality, SafetyCore is essentially Google’s version of Apple’s Communication Safety feature in iMessage. On-device AI-powered classification is used to detect potentially unwanted content, such as nude photos. It does not report back to Google or anyone else, and it does not scan every image on your phone–only those being communicated through the Messages app.

SafetyCore is not a mandatory feature, either. You can search for it in the Play Store or find it in your phone’s system settings under “Apps” and uninstall it.

It’s understandable to be alarmed when a new app that seems to scan photos appears on your Android phone. The good news is there doesn’t appear to be anything scary happening with the SafetyCore app. Apple has been doing the same thing since iOS 15.2 with little fanfare. Everything happens on your device, but you can opt-out if you don’t like it.