Google recently announced that the Google Drive desktop app for Windows PC and Mac laptops will no longer be supported by the companies developer from 11 December 2017. A few months after that date, on 12 March 2018, the Google Drive desktop app will be completely shut down.
Throughout October, if you were using Google Drive desktop app, you will start to see some notifications prompting you to move to an alternative offering from the company. Google is starting to phase out the Google Drive desktop app because they have come up with a completely new and better solution and the previous one is no longer useful to you according to them.
If you’d still like to retain the same functionality of Google Drive, you can move to the newer version called Backup and Sync. However, Google encourages you to use another alternative called Drive File Stream instead of Backup and Sync. This is because Google Drive File Stream doesn’t actually store any files on your laptop so they are all stored in the cloud and each time you want any file, it just gets it from the cloud when you need, kind of like streaming video when you are watching a video on YouTube.
That’s a good thing because it saves you some disk space on your laptop’s hard drive. However, it’s not everyone who is constantly connected to the internet and sometimes you may want to access your files while offline. In such a case then Backup and Sync would be a good option. You can also just use both options together to get the best experience.
If you do decide to run both Drive File Stream and Backup and Sync on the same computer, you’ll be prompted to stop syncing My Drive, the local folder created on your computer to store any files you get from the cloud for offline use, with Backup and Sync in order to save disk space.
Early in the year, Google also replaced the Google Photos Uploader with the earlier mentioned Backup and Sync app. Something to note is that the Drive File Stream service is actually available for enterprises so you might have to pay a little bit more for its perks. However, the Backup and Sync app still remains free as was the original Google Drive.
Let us know, did you use Google Drive? Would switching to Backup and Sync be that big of a leap? Had you already started using Backup and Sync?
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3 comments
I use Google Back up and sync. Was initially sceptical but i now believe it works better that google drive.
With the rapid changes in technology whats to stop Google from phasing out this backup & sync sometime in the future. I’m very skeptical of storing my files elsewhere call it Cloud, Jupiter or Mars. I store my files where I can access them when there is power outage or I have no internet access. I hate to rely on anybody else to access my personal files.
File stream experience is what you get when you use Drive services on a smartphone: you get enough files to use and the rest still remain in the cloud. Personally I prefer the backup and Sync whereby you still have full control of your files, whether there is internet or not.