If you’re using Google Photos as your one-stop shop for safeguarding all of your images, then there are some changes to the service you should know about.
In a support document, Google is currently halting automatic backups for image folders from prominent messaging and social media services like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat.
The company says the measure is being taken to “save internet resources” during the COVID-19 pandemic and it appears to be a temporary precaution. Users can still manually backup the photos from these apps, while Google all previously backed up photos are safeguarded.
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In its report, Android Police says the following apps are affected: Facebook, Helo, Instagram, LINE, Messages, Messenger, Snapchat, Twitter, Viber and WhatsApp.
Within the support document the Google explains:
People are sharing more photos and videos due to COVID-19. To save internet resources, backup & sync has been turned off for device folders created by messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messages, and Kik. You can change this anytime in settings.
Important:
You can turn on backup and sync settings at any time within these apps.
When backup and sync is turned off, you can still find photos and videos from messaging apps on your device and choose individual photos and videos to back up.
Previously backed up photos and videos from messaging apps aren’t affected.
The decision comes after Google also decided to drop the bitrate of videos for YouTube to help ease the strain on online infrastructure during the pandemic. The likes of Netflix and Disney Plus also followed suit, but those services are now back to max quality for those with compatible devices.
This week Google rolled out a major update for its Photos app, with new features including an image map, improved memories from the library, while the excellent array of automatic creations like collages and animations now sit within the Memories tab tpp..
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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.
