New Google Drive Desktop App to Replace Backup & Sync and Drive File Stream Clients Later This Year

by

Google has announced that it intends to unify its Google Drive solutions for keeping files in sync on users' desktops.

google backup and sync drive file stream%403x
Currently there are two desktop sync solutions for using Google Drive – Drive File Stream, which is for business users, and Backup and Sync, which is designed for personal use.

Later this year, these two clients will become one: Google Drive for desktop. Google explains that for Drive File Stream users, this is just a name change, and all functionality will remain the same.

For Backup and Sync users, they will essentially be using Drive File Stream in all but name, except with the features they're used to incorporated into the one client.

The reason for the change is that some Google Workspace customers have deployed both sync solutions, which can be confusing for end users and challenging for IT departments to manage.

As of version 45, Drive File Stream is known as Google Drive for desktop, and the company will give three months' notice for Google Workspace admins and end users before the deadline to transition to Drive for desktop.

Google Workspace customers with end users who are currently using Backup and Sync can apply for a beta of the new unified Drive for desktop experience, which includes Backup and Sync features.

Google says it will announce when Drive for desktop is officially ready for all Backup and Sync users, and will also share more details later this year on how Backup and Sync users can get started with the new client.

Tag: Google Drive

Top Rated Comments

Squuiid Avatar
Squuiid
11 months ago
They should never have split it in the first place. It was a dumb, shortsighted decision which only served to confuse users and add more work for admins.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Santiago Avatar
Santiago
11 months ago

How many different apps does this need Google? Isn’t this like the 4th or 5th one?
It's quite simple, really. They had Google Docs, where you stored all your files, then they decided that should only refer to their web-based text documents, with other files now under Google Drive. Then they released the Google Drive desktop client, renamed it to Google Backup & Sync, released Google Drive File Stream with slightly different features for slightly different accounts, and are now renaming Google Drive File Stream to just Google Drive and merging Google Backup & Sync (the old Drive) into the new Drive. I look forward to next year, when they rename it all back to Google Documents and use the Google Drive name for their self-driving cars.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
Apple Knowledge Navigator
11 months ago
Great decision! It confuses just about everyone at my workplace.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
barnaby117 Avatar
barnaby117
11 months ago
I saw the update yesterday, too. It’s not a great app, though. Has Google ever made a good app for macOS?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
evatar Avatar
evatar
11 months ago
That's crazy this was announced today as I spent more than a half hour wasting my time with their idiotic tech support trying to get my GoogleDrive to sync again via the desktop app. I really don't understand that company. They create pretty impressive apps and get them about 90% there and then just walk away. But that final 10% of development is, like, what makes the app *useable*. So strange how they run their company.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
metabob Avatar
metabob
11 months ago
Already yesterday, my Google Drive File Stream got updated it's now called just "Google Drive".
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Related Stories

google pixel buds a series

Google's New Wire-Free Pixel Buds A-Series Are $60 Cheaper Than AirPods

Thursday June 3, 2021 9:35 am PDT by
Google today introduced its latest wire-free earbuds, the Pixel Buds A-Series, which at $99, are $60 cheaper than the standard AirPods and $100 cheaper than the AirPods with Wireless Charging Case. The Pixel Buds A-Series are the most affordable Pixel Buds Google has released to date, and they offer the same sound quality as prior versions of the Pixel Buds. Reviews have corroborated...
Read Full Article • 60 comments
google privacy labels

Google Plans to Add Privacy Labels to Play Store Apps Next Year

Thursday May 6, 2021 11:57 am PDT by
Apple with iOS 14 introduced App Privacy labels for App Store apps, which are designed to let customers know details about the data that an app will collect about them before they make the decision to install an app. Google is planning to follow in Apple's footsteps with the Play Store, introducing a new feature that will require developers to provide transparency into how apps are using...
Read Full Article • 37 comments
google meet

Google Meet Extends Free 'Unlimited' Calls Until June 30

Wednesday March 31, 2021 2:57 am PDT by
Google has postponed the introduction of a 60-minute call limit on free Google Meet users for a few more months, the company today announced in a tweet. The limit was originally intended to come into effect at the end of March, but it will now begin on June 30. The extension means that non-paying users of the teleconferencing service will continue to be able to host calls up to 24 hours ...
Read Full Article • 9 comments
UseSaveToPhotosOptionPreviewingImageInGmail

Gmail to Let Users Save Image Attachments Directly to Google Photos

Thursday May 27, 2021 3:11 am PDT by
Google is adding a new "Save to Photos" button to Gmail that, when pressed, automatically saves emailed picture attachments to Google Photos. The new feature means Gmail users will no longer have to download photo attachments from messages in order to manually back them up to Google Photos. The "Save to Photos" option will go alongside the existing "Add to Drive" button that appears when...
Read Full Article • 9 comments
Google Apps Privacy Feature 1

All of Google's Main Apps Now Feature Privacy Labels

Tuesday April 6, 2021 10:45 am PDT by
Four months after Apple first began requiring apps to add App Privacy labels to their App Store listings, Google has finally updated all of its most popular apps with the information, letting people know exactly what data Google is collecting. Google began adding App Privacy labels to its apps in February after months of delaying. Gmail, for example, got App Privacy labels on February 22,...
Read Full Article • 41 comments
play store google

Google Announces Plans to Allow Android Users to Opt-Out of Tracking Later in 2021

Friday June 4, 2021 2:38 am PDT by
Android users, later this year, will have the ability to opt-out of tracking across apps on Android devices, limiting the ability for apps to access their unique advertising ID, Google announced in a support page update (via Bloomberg). The new change, in theory, is similar to Apple's recently launched ATT, or App Tracking Transparency framework; however, it differs in direct...
Read Full Article • 53 comments
carbon copy cloner 6

Bombich Software Announces Carbon Copy Cloner 6 Featuring Faster Backups, Quick Updates, Snapshot Navigator, and More

Thursday May 20, 2021 3:48 am PDT by
Bombich Software has released version 6 of Carbon Copy Cloner, the first major update to the backup program and Time Machine alternative in over four years. Apart from offering the ability to make bootable backups on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, the new-look CCC 6 includes a number of additional features, including a "Quick Update" to existing backups that is said to be up to 20 times...
Read Full Article • 131 comments
pixel watch prosser leak

Google Pixel Watch Allegedly Leaks with Circular Design, Rumored to Launch in October

Monday April 12, 2021 2:49 am PDT by
Renders of Google's first smartwatch, codenamed "Rohan," have been shared by Jon Prosser, showing that Google plans to adopt a circular design for its flagship wearable watch. Prosser shared the renders in an episode of his YouTube show "Front Page Tech," in which he claims they were made based on marketing material he had seen from a source within Google. The renders show that the Pixel...
Read Full Article • 117 comments
play store google

Google to Limit Which Apps Can See Other Installed Apps on Android Devices, Evoking Similar Privacy Changes Apple Made in iOS 9

Saturday April 3, 2021 3:23 am PDT by
Google will soon make it harder for third-party apps to see what other apps are installed on a user's Android device, a policy change that evokes similar privacy protections Apple introduced in iOS 9, way back in 2015. According to XDA-Developers, upcoming amendments to Google's Developer Program Policy will limit which apps can access an Android user's full list of installed apps. As noted...
Read Full Article • 54 comments
DuckDuckGo vs Chrome Feature

DuckDuckGo Calls Out Google Search for 'Spying' on Users After Privacy Labels Go Live

Monday March 15, 2021 12:06 pm PDT by
Over the course of the last several weeks, Google has been adding App Privacy labels to its iOS apps in accordance with Apple's App Store rules, but it took Google multiple months to begin sharing the information. There was speculation that Google's delay meant that it had something to hide, which DuckDuckGo is leaning into with a new tweet that highlights Google's data collection and calls...
Read Full Article • 209 comments