I'm in a bit of a situation and could really use some advice. I have two computers: a Chromebook that I mainly use for streaming shows and a Windows computer for gaming. Recently, my girlfriend, who's away at college, sent me some photos that we later deleted after chatting. I made sure my backup was turned off, and I didn't store the photos in the cloud, so I thought I was safe. However, when my Chromebook started acting up, I logged into my Google and YouTube accounts on my Windows computer to fix it. After I restored my Chromebook, I had to perform a factory reset because I kept getting locked out due to incorrect passwords. Now, I've given my Windows computer to my mom since she's starting a new job and I'm worried about those deleted photos and messages. I know my parents are very religious and wouldn't approve of what I did, so I want to make sure they can't find any evidence on my Windows PC. It's a different Google account on my Chromebook and Windows, so I need to know if there's any way she could still access the photos or messages from my Windows computer. Any advice on how to keep everything private and ensure those files are really gone?
3 Answers
You should definitely set her up with a guest account or a limited user account, so she doesn’t have access to your files at all. Since she’s using a different account for Google and YouTube, you should be good! Just make sure there’s nothing else on your profile that could raise suspicion.
Thanks, but I'm a bit confused. She logs into the Windows computer with my account but uses her own for Google. Just to be safe, are those photos still accessible in any way?
One option is to create a separate account for your mom on that Windows computer. It keeps her away from your files. If you want a clean slate, you could also reinstall Windows using the Microsoft media creation tool. It'll wipe everything and make it brand new!
But what about the photos? Since those were saved on a different device, she shouldn’t find them, right?
Exactly! If the photos were on your Chromebook and deleted, she shouldn't be able to access them from her new account.
It all depends on how the photos were saved. If your Google account isn’t linked to the Windows computer and you deleted them permanently from the Chromebook, you should be fine. Just ensure she doesn’t have admin privileges, or she could accidentally stumble across something. Since you checked and they weren't in the Windows files, I think you’ve covered your bases!
That’s a relief! I checked, and none of the files were showing up on Windows. I'm always cautious with this kind of stuff!
Good thinking! Keep your accounts separate, and you should be in the clear.
If you’ve deleted those photos and didn’t have cloud backups linked, you should be alright. Local deletes are usually good unless she has elevated access.