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Google will be shutting down Panoramio, its website for sharing photos of the world, on November 4. Now that Google Maps and Local Guides both have a photo-uploading feature, says Google, ‘we’ve decided to move forward with closing down Panoramio,’ something the company first announced plans for back in 2014. Many users were unhappy with the original announcement, and little has changed now that the shutdown is weeks away.
Panoramio was an early Web destination for photographers and travelers to share location-specific photos, enabling anyone to pull up a location on a world map and view any available images of it. That same feature is now available on Google Maps; in fact, Panoramio users who have shared content will Google Maps will still have their photos appear on the latter service after Panoramio shuts down.
Panoramio accounts linked to a Google account will automatically have their photographs uploaded to Google Album Archive at full resolution, the company says. In addition, Panoramio users will retain access to their account photos (within Panoramio) until November 2017, though new uploads and interactions with photos will be restricted. Google is encouraging Panoramio users to sign up under its Local Guides program.
Users who want to abandon Google entirely can export their Panoramio photos via Google Takeout if they have a Google account. The only exception are legacy Panoramio accounts; in this case, photos can be exported as a zip file via account settings > ‘Data Liberation’ > ‘Get photos’.
Via: CNET
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)