Amazon is sending out emails to customers that use Amazon Drive currently to inform them that it plans to retire the cloud storage service in 2023.
Customers need to download files from the service before its termination to maintain copies of them. Amazon Photos remains available, and any photo or video files have been automatically saved to Amazon Photos according to Amazon. Prime members get unlimited full-resolution storage and 5 Gigabytes of storage for video. Non-Prime members get 5 Gigabytes of storage that is shared between photos and videos.
Launched in 2011 as Amazon Cloud Drive, all Amazon customers suddenly had 5 Gigabytes of online storage space at their disposal free of charge. Paid plans were available for customers with larger storage requirements.
We warned potential customers about the implications of using Amazon Drive back in 2011, but did provide instructions on saving music to Amazon Cloud Drive and local PCs as well.
Amazon launched a desktop app for Cloud Drive in 2012, which worked on Macs and PCs only. Then, in 2014, Amazon introduced unlimited photo storage for Cloud Drive. A year later, Amazon Cloud Drive Unlimited was launched, which gave customers unlimited file storage for $59.99 per year. Amazon shut down the plan two years later.
Amazon Drive is shutting down in 2023
Amazon notes in the announcement that it is shutting down Amazon Drive, its file storage service, on December 31, 2023 to focus on Amazon Photos.
Over the last 11 years, Amazon Drive has served as a secure cloud storage service for Amazon customers to back up their files. On December 31, 2023, we will no longer support Amazon Drive to more fully focus our efforts on photos and video storage with Amazon Photos. We will continue to provide customers the ability to safely back up, share, and organize photos and videos with Amazon Photos.
Customers who have files stored on Amazon Drive receive the notification. Access to Amazon Drive remains available until the service is shut down.
Amazon notes that customers should download files stored on Drive before December 31, 2023 if they want to retain copies. Photo and video files have been saved to Amazon Photos automatically according to Amazon.
The company recommends that customers use the official desktop programs, if possible, to download large number of files from the service.
Amazon published a support article on its website that provides additional information on the deprecation of the service.
Amazon Drive shutdown timeline
- October 31, 2022 — Amazon Drive applications for iOS and Android will be removed from the App stores.
- January 31, 2023 — Uploading new files is no longer supported.
- December 31, 2023 — The service is shut down. File downloads and file access is no longer provided. Mobile apps will no longer work.
Closing Words
Amazon never revealed how popular Amazon Drive was. Customers who use Amazon Drive or used it in the past have more than a year to download files that are still stored on Amazon’s cloud. Alternatives, such as Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or Dropbox, are available.
Now You: are you affected by the deprecation of the service?
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