Internet giant Google has left users annoyed after it announced it would shut down its Album Archive service.
According to the Alphabet-owned company, content on Album Archive will no longer be available after 19July.
Album Archive was rolled out in 2016. The service, which formed part of the Google photo gallery offerings, stored images and videos from Google's services, such as Google Chat. It allowed users to view all their photos in one place regardless of the devices used.
The company this week sent out e-mails to inform users of the move. It advised users to utilise Takeout to download important items before the termination date.
“After Album Archive is no longer available, you can still use Google products, such as Blogger, Google Account, Google Photos for photo albums and Google Chat to view and manage some content directly. Users can also use Google Slides to upload content,” said Google in the e-mail.
A support page has been created to guide users on alternative options, including using their default Google Account for current and past profile photos.
Some users took to social media to express their frustration following the announcement. One said: “I’ve been blogging since 2007. But it looks like Google is sun-setting Album Archive for blogger.com. That is unfortunate; all my musings may be gone, soon. It’s my own fault, though, for relying on a free product.”
Another said: “Google is sun-setting Album Archive, where old Picasa, Hangout and Blogger photos exist. Last night they sent an e-mail giving 30 days’ notice.”
While another commented: “Google’s announcement about Album Archive being set to discontinue is understandable; I anticipated that it would go eventually due to the lack of Google Plus, and the fact that new alternatives exist eases the blow, especially since I have my backups ready.”
In another recent update, Google removed Conversational Actions, which extended the functionality of Google Assistant with custom conversational experiences, such as video and audio.
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