Google Drive, and its composite parts like Docs and Sheets, has revolutionized office teamwork. Google Photos has made it easier than ever before to back up your photos. These two programs have always been interchangeable, with photos in Drive showing in Google Photos and vice versa. This is all about to change, however.
Google has announced that both apps will no longer automatically sync with each other. Now you have to move photos from Google Drive to Google Photos yourself.
Let’s have a look in greater detail at what this means.
Why is Google changing the relationship between Drive and Photos?
Google is saying that user feedback is the main reason it is making the change. Apparently, users have said that the link between the two services is confusing, so it is moving to simplify the relationship between Drive and Photos.
What does the change mean?
Starting in July, new photos and videos added to Google Photos will not show up automatically in Google Drive and new Drive photos and videos will not show up automatically in Google Photos.
Instead of auto-syncing between the two apps, Google is introducing a new feature to Google Photos called “Upload from Drive,” which will give users the chance to select photos from their Google Drive to be added to their Google Photos collection. Google has also pointed out that this will include “Shared with Me” photos.
The big thing you need to note about this change is that as these photos won’t automatically sync with your Google Photos account, they’ll count towards your storage quotas on BOTH apps if you choose to sync them.
What about photos and videos already synced?
Google has pointed out that all photos and videos synced before this change is implemented will remain so. Your Drive photos will stay in Google Photos and if you have a “Google Photos” folder in Drive, it will stay there but won’t update automatically.
Has anything stayed the same?
Yes, Backup and Sync for Windows and Mac will work the same as it always has and if used to upload photos to both services in Original Quality, the space will only count once towards your storage quota.
Google claims confusion is behind the big change. This makes some sense when you consider Photos as a chronological feed showing all the pictures you’ve taken using your smartphone camera or uploaded manually. Any photos automatically added through synchronization with Drive could cause confusion. Now, however, users will know when Drive photos will have been added to Photos as they’ll have imported them themselves.
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