Free privacy tool
Pick where a photo lives: camera roll, a chat, an album, a vault. Then see every party with technical access to it: how many readable copies exist, which companies hold them, and under which jurisdictions. Claims about vendors cite the vendors’ own documentation below. The rest is plain mechanics. No fear, just the map.
Runs in your browser. Your choices never leave this page.
Where does the photo live?
Your context
Doesn’t apply here
Company home jurisdiction, as shown on the cards. Not where the data is physically stored, and not the full set of laws that can apply.
The map changes only when the photo’s home changes. In rough order of effect:
The diagram lists every party with technical access by design, as the vendors themselves document it: readable copies, settings-dependent copies, and encrypted-only copies. It is not a claim that anyone is looking at your photo. It is not a count of caches or CDN replicas, and not a security audit. Defaults vary by device and account, and the toggles cover the common ones. Counts are minimums for the parties shown.
Quotes below are from Apple, WhatsApp, Telegram, Google and EFF documentation, retrieved August 2026 via search-index snippets of the cited pages. Click through to read them in full. If a vendor changes behavior, the map follows the documentation, not the other way around.
AppleiCloud data security overview(retrieved 2026-08)
Standard data protection is the default setting for your account. Your iCloud data is encrypted, the encryption keys are secured in Apple data centers so we can help you with data recovery, and only certain data is end-to-end encrypted.
AppleAdvanced Data Protection for iCloud (Apple Platform Security)(retrieved 2026-08)
If you choose to enable Advanced Data Protection, your trusted devices retain sole access to the encryption keys for the majority of your iCloud data… No one else can access your end-to-end encrypted data — not even Apple.
AppleAdvanced Data Protection for iCloud — sharing exceptions(retrieved 2026-08)
iWork collaboration, the Shared Albums feature in Photos, and sharing content with “anyone with the link,” do not support Advanced Data Protection… Photos added to Shared Albums are stored with standard data protection, as the feature permits albums to be publicly shared on the web.
AppleWhat does iCloud back up?(retrieved 2026-08)
When you use iCloud Photos, your photos, videos, and face information automatically sync to iCloud so they aren’t included in your daily backup.
AppleHow to use Shared Albums in Photos(retrieved 2026-08)
When shared, photos are reduced to 2048 pixels on the long edge, except panoramic photos… When you share photos and videos with someone, they can save shared items to their own library.
WhatsAppAbout end-to-end encryption(retrieved 2026-08)
With end-to-end encryption on WhatsApp, your personal messages, photos, calls and more stay between you and the people you choose, meaning not even WhatsApp can see them.
WhatsAppAbout Google Drive backups(retrieved 2026-08)
Media and messages you back up aren’t protected by WhatsApp end-to-end encryption while in Google Drive unless you choose to turn on end-to-end encrypted backups. Similarly, media and messages you back up aren’t protected by WhatsApp end-to-end encryption while in iCloud.
WhatsAppAbout end-to-end encrypted backup(retrieved 2026-08)
You can secure your end-to-end encrypted backup with either a password of your choice or a 64-digit encryption key that only you know. Neither WhatsApp nor your backup service provider will be able to read your backups.
WhatsAppHow to stop WhatsApp from saving media to your phone(retrieved 2026-08)
To automatically save photos to your device on iPhone… turn on Save to Camera Roll. [Android] By default, WhatsApp will automatically download images… automatically downloaded media will show up in your gallery.
WhatsAppAbout linked devices(retrieved 2026-08)
Each linked device connects to WhatsApp independently, maintaining the same expected level of privacy and security through end-to-end encryption.
TelegramTelegram FAQ — cloud and secret chats(retrieved 2026-08)
Cloud Chats use client-server/server-client encryption and are stored encrypted in the Telegram Cloud. While your Cloud Chats can be accessed from any of your devices anytime, Secret Chats are not part of the Telegram Cloud and are device-specific by design.
TelegramTelegram FAQ — where data is stored(retrieved 2026-08)
Cloud chat data is stored in multiple data centers around the globe that are controlled by different legal entities spread across different jurisdictions. The relevant decryption keys are split into parts… several court orders from different jurisdictions are required to force the company to give up any data.
TelegramTelegram FAQ — the team(retrieved 2026-08)
The Telegram development team is based in Dubai.
GoogleGoogle Photos — Google Safety Center(retrieved 2026-08)
Google Photos protects data with multiple layers of security, including leading encryption technology like HTTPS and encryption at rest.
GoogleHide sensitive photos & videos in Locked Folders(retrieved 2026-08)
Locked Folder is protected by Google Photos’ standard encryption practices… When you turn on backup for Locked Folder, you can access your Locked Folder from other devices when you’re signed in with your Google Account.
GoogleBack up photos & videos — Google Photos Help(retrieved 2026-08)
When you automatically back up your photos and videos to your Google Account, you can find them on any device.
EFFCommunicating With Others — Surveillance Self-Defense(retrieved 2026-08)
With transport-layer encryption, your messaging service provider can see unencrypted copies of your messages.
GoogleEmail encryption in transit — Transparency Report(retrieved 2026-08)
When email is sent between different mail providers, both providers need to support TLS in order for the email to be encrypted in transit.
GoogleLearn about email encryption in Gmail(retrieved 2026-08)
Gmail uses TLS (Transport Layer Security) as standard protection… For higher level security, Gmail supports S/MIME.
GoogleSend or unsend Gmail messages(retrieved 2026-08)
Right after you send a message, you can retract it… Send cancellation period: 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds. [Past that window, Gmail cannot] bring back a copy that the recipient has already received.
A photo in a Sealby vault is encrypted on your phone and backs up only as encrypted data no one can read. The map collapses to one node: you. Different PINs open different vaults, and nothing records how many exist.
iPhone & iPad · iOS 17+ · Free