Google Drive is not shutting down, Drive's desktop app is being replaced by 'Backup and...

[Polycount]

Update: On an earlier revision of this story, wording may have suggested that Google Drive was shutting down. That is not the case. Google Drive and Google Photos are not going anywhere. If you use Google Drive mostly through a web browser or Photos via Android, you probably won’t notice any changes. What is happening is that the old version of the Drive sync client called “Drive for Mac/PC” will no longer be supported. Users will simply migrate to the new "Backup and Sync" application.

Google's cloud storage platforms -- Google Drive and Google Photos -- are getting new desktop clients. The move comes as a result of Google's desire to combine all of their existing cloud storage solutions into one cohesive app, something they've wanted to do since July.

Moving forward, users who had installed Google Drive and Google Photos on their computers to backup data will be using a new tool called Google Backup and Sync. Meanwhile, enterprise users and G Suite customers will have access to a new upcoming "Drive File Stream" application which officially launches on September 26. In a blog post, Google announced that starting December 11 file sync applications for Drive and Photos will lose official support and shortly thereafter, in March, they'll be removing the applications entirely.

If you've never heard of Backup and Sync (download here) prior to this announcement, don't worry. It functions in pretty much the same way as Drive. You simply upload your data and photos to the cloud, sync it with the desktop app, and call it a day.

The upcoming Drive File Stream works a bit differently. While it retains most of the core functionality of Backup and Sync (file storage and syncing), it adds a few new features that will benefit businesses.

For example, File Stream users will be able to stream files on demand, access collaboration-friendly "Team Drives" (the settings for which can be controlled and changed at an administrative level) and sync individual files at will, while Backup and Sync only allows for the syncing of entire folders.

And if you're worried you'll forget to migrate over, Google has your back. Starting in October, desktop warnings will pop up periodically to let you know the Drive uploader (which many simply call "Google Drive," hence the confusion) is being removed.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/70896-google-drive-shut-down-replaced-backup-sync.html

 

[bmw95]

Man I'm getting kind of frustrated at this point. On one hand you have Microsoft which keeps screwing up pretty much every product launch with subpar software (for the most part), and on the other point you have Google which can't seem to make its own mind up . . . I know it's not too much effort to migrate stuff but sigh . . .

Hangouts for everything! Ok let's separate hangouts into many micro apps! Ok wait let's change it to meet. Oh wait let's do hangouts for business.

Nice we have google drive. Oh wait let's separate it into 2 products when we could have just added some new streaming features. [Future] ehh wait I think it's better as one product now. Oh wait no let's separate it again. You know what, I don't think it's working let's close it down. Oh wait people want it let's do a revolutionary new launch!

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I wonder when google will replace sync with the new GOOGLE STORAGE (TM) that totally isnt just drive with a new coat of paint.

Google just needs to leave things alone. SO schizophrenic they cant fix anything before jumping on something else.

 

[jeremysg]

What a terrible, alarmist, inaccurate article... Truly "Fake News". Neither Google Drive nor Photos are being shut down, they're just changing (and improving) the desktop apps that people use to sync with them.

 

[kapital98]

I wonder when google will replace sync with the new GOOGLE STORAGE (TM) that totally isnt just drive with a new coat of paint.

Google just needs to leave things alone. SO schizophrenic they cant fix anything before jumping on something else.

There is probably a lot of stuff on the back end that doesn't make sense right now but will in the near future. Google has always been a company willing to experiment and change standards. Especially with consumers, this is not hard to do (much more difficult with enterprises).

As a Google Drive user (I just migrated from Dropbox 6 months ago), this sucks. But I have confidence in them.

 

[Kenrick]

Create more confusion seems the mantra of google when it comes to their projects. Google drive is already an established name when it comes with syncing files so why change the name. Why not change the person who approved this.

 

[Versutus]

So it is just the app? Could I use the Drive from the web without hassle after march? The headline is a little bit clickbait-y if it is just the app...

 

[DaveBG]

Hahahah. As always enjoy cloud.

 

[RedGuard]

It uploads the files to Google's server, not the cloud. It isn't a magical unicorn, it's just a storage device with some fail proof mechanisms.

 

[Punkid]

What a terrible, alarmist, inaccurate article... Truly "Fake News". Neither Google Drive nor Photos are being shut down, they're just changing (and improving) the desktop apps that people use to sync with them.

Came here to point that out. This article is extremely misleading.

 

[Michael Baker]

What a terrible, alarmist, inaccurate article... Truly "Fake News". Neither Google Drive nor Photos are being shut down, they're just changing (and improving) the desktop apps that people use to sync with them.

While the article could have and should have been more clear that it was the apps and not the service itself, I wouldn't classify it as "fake news". Unless my sarcasm detector is broken.

 

[Kibaruk]

What a terrible, alarmist, inaccurate article... Truly "Fake News". Neither Google Drive nor Photos are being shut down, they're just changing (and improving) the desktop apps that people use to sync with them.

While the article could have and should have been more clear that it was the apps and not the service itself, I wouldn't classify it as "fake news". Unless my sarcasm detector is broken.

I'm sorry but how? It literally says that Google Drive is shutting down and that you need to migrate, it's not figuratively, it's not maybe, it SAYS that.

 

[GreenNova343]

What a terrible, alarmist, inaccurate article... Truly "Fake News". Neither Google Drive nor Photos are being shut down, they're just changing (and improving) the desktop apps that people use to sync with them.

While the article could have and should have been more clear that it was the apps and not the service itself, I wouldn't classify it as "fake news". Unless my sarcasm detector is broken.

I'm sorry but how? It literally says that Google Drive is shutting down and that you need to migrate, it's not figuratively, it's not maybe, it SAYS that.

Because it's 100% true?

Remember, Google Drive is not the name of the place where the documents are stored. That's Google Docs -- as noted in the actual browser-accessible website (http://docs.google.com). And it's not a question of Google simply renaming the apps in question -- if it was, their blog post (referenced in this article) would have said that people would be receiving reminders about the apps changing names...& not that the old apps were going away & would no longer be supported.

Similar thing happened when DigiDNA SARL updated their iOS app FileApp from version 3 to version 4. The changes they had to make for compatibility (from iOS 6 to iOS 7) meant that they released a completely different app -- you know, where you have two separate app icons on your screen, & clicking each one opens up a different app (& with access to different files, depending on what's been stored in each app)?

Google Drive is an app used to access a file storage solution offered by Google. Google Drive is being discontinued & replaced by a new app called Google Backup & Sync. That's what Google's blog post says, & that's what this article's title says. No "fake news", no "click-bait"....

 

[Julio Franco]

Update: On an earlier revision of this story, wording may have suggested that Google Drive was shutting down. That is not the case. Google Drive and Google Photos are not going anywhere. If you use Google Drive mostly through a web browser or Photos via Android, you probably won’t notice any changes. What is happening is that the old version of the Drive sync client called “Drive for Mac/PC” will no longer be supported. Users will simply migrate to the new "Backup and Sync" application.

Further...

We believe the confusion (for which we're partly to blame) stems from the fact that many who use Google Drive as a drop-in replacement for cloud storage competitors such as OneDrive or Dropbox, don't call this the “Drive for Mac/PC”, but simply "Google Drive."

 

[Morris Minor]

Update: On an earlier revision of this story, wording may have suggested that Google Drive was shutting down. That is not the case. Google Drive and Google Photos are not going anywhere. If you use Google Drive mostly through a web browser or Photos via Android, you probably won’t notice any changes. What is happening is that the old version of the Drive sync client called “Drive for Mac/PC” will no longer be supported. Users will simply migrate to the new "Backup and Sync" application.

Further...

We believe the confusion (for which we're partly to blame) stems from the fact that many who use Google Drive as a drop-in replacement for cloud storage competitors such as OneDrive or Dropbox, don't call this the “Drive for Mac/PC”, but simply "Google Drive."

Wow, you delete my comment saying to stop using all google services. So you guys approve of the disgusting things they are doing?

 

[Mewtwothegamer]

I've talked With a Google Client (To Get More Info Out Of Them) and they told me that the OLDER version of Google Drive would be shutting down not the Google Drive Itself.

 

[HondaMan983]

I do wish people who publish these articles would remember that not all of us are as tech savvy as them. The fact that an individual file cannot now be synched is a major disadvantage to me. That it the only reason I use web storage at all. My backups are kept locally so only a really important file is kept offsite so I shall probably ditch Google drive completely!