'Backup and Sync' to be scrapped in favour of Google Drive for Desktop

Google is phasing out support for "Backup and Sync" on Desktop and will replace it with "Google Drive for Desktop"

The Google Backup and Sync application for desktop will soon be phased out in favour of Google Drive for desktop. Backup and Sync was a way to co-ordinate data across mobile devices and PC.

Google Drive for desktop is a more refined version of the application which will offer some features unique to it that are not present on Backup and Sync. It will allow you to see who's editing files in real-time for instance and will also integrate with Microsoft Outlook. It will also allow you to use files in folders that have been shared with you from another account.

Google says that it is making this change because Drive for Desktop will be a unified sync client for business, educational and personal users. It streamlines the user experience and makes things simpler for Google and the end user. There will no longer be separate apps for everything to be synced up and it works across platforms.

The new application is already available for download for Mac and PC. People who are still using Backup and Sync will start notifications about imminent closure starting August 18 and the application will completely stop working on October 1. So you may as well download it now and prepare to migrate.