Next month, Google is putting an end to automatic file syncing between Google Photos and Google Drive because the function was creating “confusion.”
The file-syncing automatically added images from your Google Photos account to Google Drive and vice-versa. But on the flip side, images you deleted from one service could end up deleting the copy in the other.
So Google has decided to retire the file syncing on July 10 in order to “prevent accidental” image deletions, Google said in a Wednesday blog post
“Our goal with these changes is to simplify some features that caused confusion for our users, based on feedback and our own research,” the company said.
To replace it, Google is introducing a new feature on the Google Photos’website called “Upload from Drive,” which will let you manually pick photos and video you want to import from your Google Drive account. “Once copied, these items are not connected between the two products,’ the company notes. So any changes you make to one item will not affect the other.
The company made no mention of moving your files in the other direction. But the Google Photos app already has a share function that can let you send pictures to Google Drive and other third-party services. The tech giant’s other product, backup and sync
will also remain available on Windows and Macs to upload your digital media to either product.
“Any photos or videos from Drive in Photos that you have uploaded prior to this change will remain in Photos,” the company added. “If you have a ‘Google Photos’ folder in Drive, it will remain in Drive, but will no longer update automatically.”
The company has created a support page with more information on the upcoming change, including how it can impact your file storage limits. According to the page, manually duplicating the pictures across Google Drive to Google Photos will take up storage space over both accounts, but using the company’s Backup and Sync service will not.