Google Shutting Down Album Archive Next Month

Google sent an email to users on Friday, informing them that Album Archive will be discontinued on July 19, 2023. The tech giant recommends users to take a backup of their content via Google Takeout, before Album Archive's inevitable shutdown.

Album Archive Shutdown Imminent

For the uninitiated, Album Archive stores album content from Google products in one place, allowing you to view and manage your photos. Many users have already received an email outlining Album Archive's shutdown.

Google's email states, "Starting on July 19, 2023, Album Archive will no longer be available." It adds that "content that's only available in Album Archive will be deleted from July 19." After it's discontinued, you can still use other Google products to view and manage images.

Google adds that "some content that's only available in Album Archive will be deleted starting July 19." This includes:

1. Rare cases like small thumbnail photos and album comments or likes.
2. Some Google Hangouts data from Album Archive.
3. Background images uploaded in the Gmail theme picker prior to 2018.

Album Archive's website also states that the feature will no longer be available after July 19, 2023. The site urges users to use Takeout to download images on Album Archives before the shutdown.

How to Backup Your Album Archive Photos

Before Album Archive is gone for good, you can use Takeout to back up your images. Takeout will send you a link via email to download your content, or you can just send it to cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive.

Google Takeout's download link will expire after seven days, so don't let that link sit in your mailbox for too long. Additionally, those who use Workspace will be able to download their content from Takeout only if their admins give the required permissions.

Google's support page says that you can continue to view and manage photos on Google services like Google Photos, Hangouts (which has been upgraded to Google Chat), Blogger, and your Google Account even after Google Archive closes down.