It sounds harmless, but it is dangerous. A vulnerability on Google Pixel smartphones shows cropped screenshots in the original.
The vulnerability under Google Pixel undoes image edits. (Source: Simon Aarons)
If a screenshot that you want to send contains sensitive data, you can of course crop the image beforehand. However, if you use a Google Pixel smartphone, a serious security vulnerability thwarts your plans. As two IT experts found out, the original screenshot can be easily restored. This can pose some dangers for you.
For example, if you cropped the image with the pixel editor to hide sensitive data. If you share the edited image in a group chat or post it, a large number of people can easily undo the editing thanks to the acropalypse tool. In the following tweet, the discoverers of the vulnerability, Simon Aarons and David Buchanan, show how the process works.
Google’s March patch has now fixed the vulnerability. With old screenshots, however, what was cut off can still be made visible. Such an example shows that you should not send any content lightly. Important information can quickly fall into the wrong hands.
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