Google has finally announced plans to completely remove the aging Google Drive desktop app. Support for both Windows and macOS versions will stop on December 11th, and the app will shut down completely on March 12th, 2018.

End of an Era

The announcement brings an end to one of the longest running Google features, and one that is used by many millions of people around the world. Users still running the app after today will begin to see "going away" notifications in October. Google will likely begin to steer those users (me included!) toward one of their replacements, consumer or business user alike.

The demise of Google Drive has been on the cards for several months. Earlier this year, Google announced that they would consolidate desktop file sync applications into a single new app.

The new app, Backup and Sync, offers a streamlined approach to both Google Drive and Google Photos. As well as providing functionality for those combined services, the new app uses a simpler interface that can also backup files from USB-connected devices.

Backup and Sync

Google will begin to seriously push its new Backup and Sync app throughout October. And, to be fair, it appears to be a significant upgrade on the old Google Drive app.

From within the new app you'll be able configure other settings, like your photo upload quality, file deletion policies, and specifying upload and download rates. Within that photo upload quality is a slight bonus: Original quality images will count against your drive use, but using the High quality setting does not.

Long live Backup and Sync!

Have you already switched to Backup and Sync? Do you miss the old Google Drive desktop app? Or is the new app better? Let us know your thoughts on the demise of Google Drive in the comments below!