Google Drive for desktop to discontinue support for Windows 8 and 8.1 in august 2023

Google Drive has announced that it will be discontinuing support for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 in August 2023. This decision comes as part of the ongoing effort to streamline and optimize their services for the latest operating systems. Users who are affected by this change have been advised to either upgrade to Windows 10 (64 bit) or a higher version, or alternatively, use the web app for accessing their files.

In addition to discontinuing support for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, Google Drive is also phasing out the 32-bit version of its sync client. This move is in line with the industry trend of focusing resources on 64-bit architectures, which offer improved performance and compatibility. However, users with a 32-bit version of Windows can still access Google Drive through a browser, ensuring that they can continue to utilize the service without any major disruptions.

One of the notable features of the Google Drive app is its integration with File Explorer on Windows. This integration allows users to seamlessly access their stored content directly from the Windows interface, making file management and sharing a breeze. Additionally, the app offers the convenience of automatically backing up local photos and videos to Google Photos, ensuring that important memories and media files are securely stored in the cloud.

It's worth noting that Microsoft ended support for Windows 8.1 in January 2023, which has made it impractical for developers to allocate further resources to this operating system. This aligns with the fact that the latest version of Google Chrome that supported Windows 8.1 were released in January. However, users who still rely on Windows 8.1 can take solace in the fact that Mozilla Firefox will continue to provide security updates until September 2024, ensuring a safe browsing experience for those users who still don't want to change their operating system.