Google is finally closing down its photo sharing service Panoramio, much to the distress of the platform’s few remaining loyal users.
You probably haven’t heard a whole lot about the location-based photo service in the past few years, and that’s because this is actually the second time that Google’s tried to close down the platform, after ultimately relenting following a user petition in 2014.
Now, this time the company really means it and no amount of protest is going to stop the service closing. That means you’ll need to make sure your account is linked to your Google+ account if you the photos you’ve uploaded over the years copued across to a Google archive for downloading.
“If you have linked your Panoramio profile with a Google account, all your Panoramio photos will be copied to the Google Album Archive at full resolution after Panoramio goes away. These copied photos will not use any of your Google storage quota. Your Panoramio photos that appear in Google Maps will continue to appear in Maps, unless you delete them later from the Maps Contributions panel,” Google advises users.
From Google’s perspective, it makes a lot of sense as it has newer features attached to Google Maps that do a similar, if not the same, job. Specifically, the Local Guides option, which lets people upload photos, reviews and other information about a location. From the perspective of long-time users that spent years contributing to Panoramio, uploading images, levelling up their accounts and generally building a community, it feels more like a metaphorical kick in the teeth.
While there’s a substitute in the form of Local Guides, and Panoramio had a good run since its launch in 2005, it’s unlikely that the platform’s holdouts will make the jump to Google Maps due to a slightly different feature set and less of a community focus.
Related: Google Maps tips and tricks
Watch: The Refresh: The best tech news and gossip every week
Are you still a user of Panoramio? Will you mourn its loss? Let us know in the comments below.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
