Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Backup, synch, or both

A high proportion of posts to Google+ I encounter seem related to issues with Google Photos. I have not invested a great deal of time in figuring out Photos beyond uploading several thousand picks. I do think the Google documentation needs to be improved.
Aside from concerns related to partial uploads, it seems to me many of the questions could be described as uncertainty regarding whether Google is providing customers a backup or synch service. Customers are concerned that they want a backup and are worried Google may be providing synch. In other words, customers are concerned that if they delete photos on the local device, the photos will then be deleted in their Google account leaving them with no copy anywhere.
Google provides a help comment on synch vs. backup, but this distinction appears to only apply with mobile devices. I would guess most folks with really large photo collections are trying to figure out what applies to their desktop machines.
Photos_Help

changesettings

So Google, if you encounter this post, you might cut down on the frustration and confusion if you would clarify the differences between your mobile and desktop services.

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