When it comes to image and photo apps, there is one which has made a massive impact since its launch. This is Google Photos. The app was released at last year’s I/O event and very quickly saw its adoption surpassing the 100 million user marker. A feat which was partially thanks to how feature-heavy the application is, offering its users the ability to automatically backup photos, have them adjusted into neat animations and collages and a whole lot more. With such a feature-packed app and one gaining rapid adoption, you would think Google only has eyes for one photo and image service and that is exactly the case as Google has confirmed today that they will be shuttering their Picasa service.
The reason for the closing of the service is simple, Google Photos. The blog posting which details the slow closure of Picasa, notes that since Photos launched, they have been routinely asked about the future of Picasa. Questions which after contemplation led to Google deciding that they could not see a viable future for the dated service. Instead, Google plans to “focus entirely on a single photo service in Google Photos.” Further adding, that by focusing on one service they can “create a much better experience” and one which will provide “more functionality and works across mobile and desktop“.
In spite of Google considering Picasa to be effectively obsolete now, the company does recognize that many people still do use the service. As a result the sun-setting of the service will not happen immediately but instead will occur over the “coming months“. Not to mention, Google is looking to make the transition as easy as possible. Google notes that if you have photos in a Picasa Web Album, then they will already be available through Google Photos. For those who prefer not to use Google Photos, Google notes that they will be creating “a new place” where content, tags, captions and comments will be accessible. This means you can still access the content, but you will no longer be able to upload or create new content. These changes are said to begin taking effect from May 1, 2016. Much sooner though, Google will be stopping support for the Picasa desktop application and this will take effect from March 15, 2016. After that date, you will still be able to use the application (if you already have it downloaded), but it will not be supported in terms of future development. Those interested in finding out more about the retiring of Picasa or what to do, can read the full blog by heading through the source link below.