Google to shut down its Google Drive app

After bidding goodbyes to Google Instant Search, Google is now bidding goodbye to its backup app Google Drive.

Today, the company declared that it will shut down its Google Drive app in March 12, 2018. Whilst it will discontinue supporting the Windows and Mac versions of Google Drive by December 11, it will completely shut it down by March next year. As a replacement, Google will also introduce two new apps.

Further clarifying the issue, Google is not completely closing the entire service, it’s just the desktop app that is going away and can still be accessed online or via smartphones. The user would start seeing a message that the app is ‘going away’ if he has the old version installed. The firm would then guide the users towards two replacements based on whether they are consumer or a business user, reported The Verge.

Being similar to the previous version, one of the new app, known as ‘Backup and Sync’, also contains few new features which will allow backing up any folder on Google Drive easily. The consumer app is a collaboration of Google Drive and Google Photos app.

However, for the business sector, Google has ‘Drive File Stream’ that saves storage on the local drive along with granting access to “all of your Google Drive files on demand, directly from your computer”. Pointing out a benefit of Drive File Stream, Google said, “Say goodbye to time-consuming file syncing and any concerns about disk space.”

Furthermore, there is a slight difference between the two apps; both of the applications can do one or two things that the other can’t. For that Google offers the users its help pages that will assist users to know which app is better for them.

Quoting a part of Google’s blog post, Tech Juice wrote, “Just choose the folders you want to back up, and we’ll take care of the rest.”