Amazon discontinuing its Drive program could impact some of your photo and video files.

>It’s Technical

By Carlos Franco—October 6, 2022.

Twitter: @itstechnical_cf | Glasp: @CarlosCFranco | Web: CarlosFranco.Bio

Amazon launched its storage service, “Amazon Drive,” in March of 2011, offering users pay-as-you-go tiered storage plans. It has since sunset this service and will close access to files stored on it by December 31, 2022.

Why it matters

Some photo and video files shared between Amazon Drive, and Amazon Photos won’t be accessible after the Amazon Drive program ends. Below are a few key points from Amazon’s email to current Drive users.

• Photo or video files that are moved to the Trash on Amazon Drive are also moved to the Trash on Amazon Photos.
• Files in your Trash folder will be permanently deleted from both Amazon Drive and Amazon Photos after 30 days and will no longer be available through Amazon Photos.

What Amazon recommends you do before December 31, 2023

• Restore files from your Amazon Drive and Amazon Photo Trash folders.
• Review and download the files on your Amazon Drive.
• Visit the FAQ page for further assistance: Frequently Asked Questions: Amazon Drive Deprecation

Important dates to remember

• October 31, 2022: Removal of Amazon Drive from the iOS and Android App Stores.
• January 31, 2023: The Amazon Drive upload feature will be disabled.
• December 31, 2023: Last day to view and download your Amazon Drive files.

Further Reading

• Amazon has killed off its unlimited data storage deal, The Verge (2017)
• Amazon Drive is shutting down at the end of 2023, The Verge (2022)