Google Announces Termination of 'One Useful Feature' on 8/10! Cloud Albums and Photo Backup Affected – Free Alternatives Explained

Users who rely on automatic photo backup via computer, please take note! Google has officially announced that starting tomorrow (August 10), support for the automatic backup feature of Google Photos in the 'Google Drive Desktop' app will be discontinued. If you regularly depend on this desktop application to automatically upload photos from your computer, you will no longer be able to sync them automatically to Google Photos using the previous method from tomorrow onward. Users are advised to promptly switch to the official alternative solution provided.

Google's useful feature ends on 8/10 – a thing of the past! The 'backup albums' function in Google Drive Desktop is being discontinued, and new alternatives have been revealed.

Previously, users only needed to complete the setup in 'Google Drive Desktop' to automatically back up photos from a designated folder on their computer to Google Photos, eliminating the need for manual repetitive operations.

However, starting August 10, this automatic backup mechanism will be completely terminated. Google officially emphasized the following points:

· Existing photos unaffected: All photos and videos already successfully uploaded to Google Photos will remain fully preserved and will not be deleted by the system.

· New photos require a new method: After August 10, new photos on your computer will no longer be automatically transferred to Google Photos via the Google Drive Desktop app.

Alternative solution for photo backup: Switch to 'Google Photos Web Version'

Although support for the desktop application is ending, users can still directly back up photos from their computer to Google Photos. Going forward, please use the 'Google Photos Web Version' with the following steps:

1. Access the website: Open your computer's browser and go to the Google Photos website.

2. Select backup folder: Click the '+' icon in the top-right corner of the page and select 'Folder Backup'.

3. Choose folder: Select the photo folder on your computer that you wish to back up.

💡 Background operation tip: Google states that once setup is complete, as long as the Google Photos tab (or the Google Photos Web App) remains open in your browser, the system will automatically back up new photos from that folder to Google Photos in the background.

Comparison of Old and New Mechanisms for Google Photos Computer Backup

| Item | Previous Mechanism (Before 8/10) | New Alternative Mechanism (From 8/10) | |------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------------| | Backup Channel | Google Drive Desktop App | Google Photos Web Version (Web App) | | Setup Method | Set folder sync in desktop app | Top-right '+' → 'Folder Backup' on web page | | Background Execution Condition | Desktop app running in background | Google Photos tab or Web App must remain open | | Status of Existing Photos | Safely stored in the cloud | Safely stored in the cloud, completely unaffected |

Q1: After August 10, will my previously backed-up photos in Google Photos be deleted?

A: No. Photos and videos already uploaded to Google Photos are completely unaffected and will remain fully preserved in your account.

Q2: After August 10, how can I back up photos from my computer to Google Photos?

A: Access the 'Google Photos website', click the '+' in the top-right corner and select 'Folder Backup', choose your folder, and keep the browser tab open to enable automatic background backup.

Source: 'Google'