How did he get a photo from my phone?!

[WhatsNewPussyCatty]

Posting here for traffic as there's not much on the more techy board on Mumsnet.

Last night, i noticed that DH's phone's screensaver picture is a photo that I took a few months ago which I didn't share with him. I definitely didn't share it, I checked.

I can't imagine how he got hold of it. My photos are not synced with any other phones, I don't have an apple account as I don't have an apple phone (he does, but I don't), and my phone account isn't in the cloud.

Checking my settings hasn't brought anything to light. I'm not very technically minded, unfortunately i rely on DH to sort these things out for me.

I feel a bit sickened.

Is there anyone techy out there who can tell me how this has happened and how I can stop this happening in the future please?

TIA

Thanks very much @Pinkywoo That's all really, really useful. Will take a look at that when I have time later.

It's really simple. I'm having to assume you have an android phone. Go to your google photos app and open it - top right you'll see an icon - often your photo if you've set it or more usually the first letter of your name. Click on that and it will show you which google account your photos are backed up to. You can switch between as many google accounts as you like - I have 6-7 different gmail accounts on my phone - your partner simply has to have access to that email account - if he can see your photos from that account he can also see your emails from that account too. Change the password if you want to keep him out.

Ours do this - automatically backs up on the main account

Have you ever used the photo he copied on Facebook or as your profile pic on messenger or watts app?
I’ve been able to copy photos like this by clicking on the photo and saving it.
or by doing a screenshot.

How old is your phone and is it on contract? You might find if you pop in the local shop and ask nicely they'll run through stuff if they're quiet. You don't need to go into details, just say you want to make sure you're security settings are top notch as you've nosy teens etc.
There's also a way on one of my phones to have like a dark account, so I can keep photos in there and other stuff, and it's locked biometrically. Worth asking

Yes, my phone is on contract. I was thinking of popping into a shop to get their help with my settings, but wasn't sure if it'd be considered inappropriate.

That might be the easiest thing to do, so thank you 😊

Nope, never used it or shared it.

You still haven't said how you can be 100% certain that it was your photo and not a similar one of his own?

Well apart from the minor detail that your scenario is a mile away from that described by the OP - its a fatuous comparison every time someone raises it as women and men are not treated equally or equably either socially or financially. So this "if a man said this" rhetoric is utterly meaningless in much the same way as NAMALT is meaningless in a world where most men are and we have no way of telling the difference until its too late.

You can ask the supplier for help but why can't you simply ask him? You are entitled to privacy in your photos/comms just as anyone is but isn't the bigger issue that you feel unable to simply ask him?

I'm aware this is the bigger issue, yes.

However, this is not what I'm asking for you guys to support me with in this thread. I've just asked for technical support, not for relationship advice.

What is the photo of? The fact that he has taken it as used it as his screen saver suggests he is playing some serious mind games here.

Yes, yes I know you don't want relationship advice but you say you have kids? Maybe it's time to think a bit beyond phone security.

DH wasn't present when the photo was taken. It was a specific one-off occasion.

Thank you for recognising these things are rarely cut and dried. It's rare to meet others who understand this as well as you do.

I'm grateful some of you can see I can't "just ask him". If I could do the obvious, then I would.

You assume I haven't thought beyond phone security?

I'm dealing with that separately.

OP, when you say you know that you haven’t shared it with him because “you’ve checked” — what exactly do you mean? Like, how did you check this?

Thing is there are many methods of moving data on and off phones which will vary depending on model of phone, version of OS and apps installed on the phone.

When you take it into the shop tell them explicitly that you have reason to believe your phone has been accessed without your consent and that you want to check all your data security settings and get some general advice.

Check through your apps and remove any which you don't remember installing or haven't used recently.

Disable bluetooth as standard other than when you are actually using it eg for headphones.

Look for any apps which use or share location data and disable the use of location data other than when you use the app so eg with a mapping app like Waze I have it set only to use location data whilst I'm using the app and not otherwise.

Encrypt your backups (it is usually a setting on the backups).
Change your passcodes and passwords on apps.

Did he set your phone up when you got it?

I checked my email sent folders and my WhatsApp messages. There's no record of that image being sent. Also, I remember not sending it to him.

Fabulous stuff @C8H10N4O2
Thank you - plenty to work through AND to help me be less of a tech luddite 😊

I have this but once when I did a , hmm, what is it called, a carasel or something, ie, the phone randomly selects photos and shows them one after another, my hidden photos showed up in that! So not very hidden!

No, it was set up at the shop for me.

DH does however do checks and updates on my phone from time to time as I'm too impatient and clueless. Or if my phone is playing up he will deal with it. He does this with my permission, but usually I'm not watching him do it, I'll go off and get on with whatever I need to while he cracks on.

I would have no problems going back to the place I got the phone from, telling them I'm a luddite, and asking them the most basic questions and to explain things to me. I'd also say "I'm worried someone might be tracking my phone or something, is there any way you can check for me?". People like to be helpful on the whole, and the people you find in these phone shops often have long periods of the day when they are bored rigid.

If you use WhatsApp and the photo was in there then it is a trivial matter for anyone to copy off your phone to theirs.

I know this as a street magician friend showed me how he gets peoples txt messages off their phones and then pretends to read their minds etc.

WhatsApp consider this lack of security a “feature”.

It's very likely then that he has access to an account your phone is registered with. I missed if you said what you have. I have a Samsung and I had to register a gmail/Google account with it to use it. My photos are backup to the cloud. It happens in the background. It can be set to happen at certain times. I can access those photos (and other things) anywhere by logging in to that Google account.

In your case, I would check to make sure it is still your original account which is registered to your phone. If he has changed it, or changes it temporarily, to something he has access to, he could be backing up your photos to it when he has your phone.