>But I wasn't sure if the images would still be uploaded and saved somewhere else, out of your control, when you turn the option off.

I think that's a safe assumption.

>Although I think image search results currently only show images hosted on webpages, so maybe not.

I think it's more likely they'll store them privately. It's worth noting they also introduced a face tagging system, with similar opacity about how the tags will be stored and used.

I share your concerns about privacy. This is gross and I don't want it.