Google has finally decided to cut Picasa loose, choosing to focus its efforts on its own Google Photos instead. The move isn’t entirely surprising considering how ancient the service is compared to more modern image management tools; but the news will still come as a blow to its dedicated user base.
To recollect, Google had bought Picasa way back in 2004. It has since introduced Google+ Photos and Google Photos, making its subsidiary’s slow march towards oblivion inevitable. In a blog post, Google said it won’t end the platform’s life immediately, so users will have some time to adjust to the Picasa-less world they will soon live in.
They’ll have until March 15 this year to deal with losing Picasa’s desktop application and May 1, to mourn Picasa Web Albums. Note that the former will continue functioning for anyone who has downloaded the software; it just won’t be getting any support or updates from Google.
As for Picasa Web Albums, the parent company says all users will find their pictures and videos safely tucked away in Google Photos. The search giant is pushing patrons to adopt the latter as their new image manager. However, there is an alternative in place for people who are not interested in doing so.
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Google is set to create a new place for them to get access to Picasa Web Albums data such as captions and tags. This should come as relief to those who spent hours meticulously sorting out their snaps. At the same time, members will only be able to view, download or delete their albums. Creating, editing and organizing albums can only be done through Google Photos now.