Guide
Is Amazon Photos safe? What Amazon's own pages say
Private from strangers, yes. Private from Amazon, no — and Amazon says so: its image recognition tags objects and faces, and it may scan your photos to show shopping recommendations.
Safe from strangers: yes. Secure: Amazon’s standard encryption, not end to end. Private from Amazon: no, and Amazon says so. In detail: a group is visible to the people you invite, and by link only while link sharing is on — switch it off and “only you and people you invite can access photos in a group”. Private from Amazon: no, and Amazon says so plainly. Image recognition tags objects, actions and scenes; “People grouping” stores “records of individual faces”; and Amazon “may also scan your photos to show shopping recommendations based on the content of your images”. There is no end-to-end encryption claim. The tagging features can be switched off in account settings.
Who can see a group
People you invite, and anyone with the link while link sharing is on. Family-plan members and invited group members need an Amazon account; a group link doesn’t.
What Amazon does with the photos
Tags for objects, actions and scenes; face records for “People grouping”; scans for shopping recommendations; a Lens button that shops for products recognised in your photos. All of it is described on Amazon’s own image-recognition page, and all of it runs on Amazon’s servers — which is why there is no end-to-end claim to make.
Ads and the App Store label
No ad placements are described; the shopping recommendations are the commercial use. The label has no “Data Used to Track You” section, and lists data linked to you for Amazon’s own advertising or marketing: purchase history, physical address, email, name, phone number and identifiers.
The files
Full-resolution originals, unlimited for Prime members, downloadable from the web or the apps. Cancel Prime and you keep 5 GB and must remove the rest.
The short version
Private from strangers: yes. Private from Amazon: no, by Amazon’s own account. Shopping recommendations from your photos: yes, unless you switch tagging off. If the company being unable to open the photos is what you mean by private, see the privacy ranking.
| Criterion | Amazon Photos |
|---|---|
| Can the company open your photos? | Yes — servers analyse the photos[1] |
| AI or face recognition run on your photos? | Yes — tags, face grouping, shopping; switchable[1][2] |
| Ads? | Partly — photos may be scanned for shopping suggestions[1] |
| App Store label: data used to track you | Partly Label has no tracking section; marketing data linked to you[3] |
| Photos kept at full quality? | Yes — full resolution (Prime)[4] |
Sources
- Amazon Photos — Amazon Help: Learn more about image recognition in Amazon Photos, checked 2026-09-12
We use image recognition technology to analyze and apply tags to your photos and videos … We may also scan your photos to show shopping recommendations based on the content of your images … Amazon will collect, store, and use records of individual faces to enable these and similar features … You may enable or disable the tagging features any time through your account settings.
- Amazon Photos — Amazon Help: What is Amazon Photos?, checked 2026-09-12
5 GB of free storage for all Amazon customers. Unlimited full-resolution photo storage, plus 5 GB of video storage, for Amazon Prime members … Image recognition for people, places, and things … Prints, photo books, and digital greeting cards.
- Amazon Photos — App Store listing: Amazon Photos — App Privacy, checked 2026-09-12
Data Linked to You — Developer's Advertising or Marketing: Purchase History, Physical Address, Email Address, Name, Phone Number, User ID, Device ID, Product Interaction … In-App Purchases: 100 GB Monthly Plan $1.99 · 1 TB Monthly Plan $6.99 · 2 TB Monthly Plan $11.99.
- Amazon Photos — Amazon Help: How much storage do I have available?, checked 2026-09-12
Photos: free and unlimited at full resolution for Amazon Prime members. Non-Prime customers get 5 GB shared across photos and videos. Videos: count toward your storage limit for everyone, including Prime members … If you cancel Prime … You keep 5 GB of free storage.
- Amazon Photos — Amazon Help: Sharing your Amazon Photos storage allowance with Amazon Family, checked 2026-09-12
You can share your Amazon Photos storage allowance with up to 5 other family members … Non-members need to create an Amazon account … Photos and videos uploaded by members of a family group are private and can only be accessed by the person who uploaded them.
- Amazon Photos — Amazon Help: Manage access to shared groups in Amazon Photos, checked 2026-09-12
To only allow people you invited to the group to view photos in the group, switch off Link sharing … When link sharing is switched off, only you and people you invite can access photos in a group.
Questions people ask
Does Amazon scan my photos?
Yes, by its own description: image recognition tags objects, actions and scenes, ‘People grouping’ stores records of individual faces, and Amazon ‘may also scan your photos to show shopping recommendations based on the content of your images’.
Can I turn off Amazon Photos face recognition?
Amazon says the tagging features can be switched off in account settings.
Does Amazon Photos show ads?
No ad placements are described, but Amazon says it may scan photos to show shopping recommendations based on their content, and a Lens button shops for products recognised in your photos.