Google Killing Album Archive: Here’s How To Save Images Stored Before The Platform Disappears

Google is sunsetting Album Archive, a vital image storage facility that held all the photos from Google services such as Hangouts. The search giant has started sending emails to users asking them to take a backup of their images before Album Archive is gone.

Google shuttered multiple services in the hopes of unifying communications into Google Chat. The company offered a simple-to-use location to store images from these platforms. But this very backup location too will be shuttered. Let's see how to back up all the images from Google Album Archive before they disappear.

Google Is Shutting Down Album Archive

Most of the images, users shared on Google Hangouts or any of Google's other now-defunct messaging apps, are still available on Album Archive. The platform lets users access/view them in one convenient location, regardless of the device they sent them on.

Google has started informing users that it is shutting down Album Archive. Needless to say, it was a useful gallery of images or videos shared on older Google services over the years. With Album Archive gone, users could lose old images they shared via Hangouts or other platforms shuttered to promote Google Chat.

Google emailed users this week informing them that "some content that's only available in Album Archive will be deleted starting July 19." That includes some Google Hangouts data currently stored within Album Archive, background images uploaded in the Gmail theme picker before 2018, and small thumbnail photos, album comments, and likes.

A banner on the Album Archive support page states the service will no longer be available after July 19, 2023. The email is quite clear that some of the user data stored within Album Archive will be gone for good after July 19.

How To Backup Content Stored In The Album Archive?

Strangely, the support page suggests users may still be able to access it through other Google services even after next month. Users can "view and manage" content beyond July 19 on other Google services like Blogger, Hangouts (now Chat), Google Photos, and their default Google Account.

The discrepancy between the email and the support page is confusing. Regardless of the condition, it is important that users download their content if they do not want it doe deleted.

To back up content stored in Album Archive, open the email that Google sent. There is a link that leads to Google Takeout, where all the content is visible. Google Takeout will generate a download link that will be sent to the users' email accounts. It is important to note that the Google Takeout download link is only valid for seven days.

Users can also visit the Album Archive page on Google Takeout directly and follow the same procedure. Alternatively, users can also choose to transfer their data to their preferred cloud storage service.