Amazon to shutter Amazon Drive, gives users timeline to save content

Amazon is pulling the plug on its Amazon Drive service, removing a perk that Prime users could enjoy.

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The online juggernaut introduced Amazon Cloud Drive 11 years ago. Prime subscribers could get 5GB of free cloud storage, with the option to purchase more, to store their photos, videos and other files, Kiplinger reported.

But recently, Amazon sent emails to Drive users telling them that the free file storage will be going away by the end of next year and that they will soon have to download some of the content they store on Amazon’s cloud, PCMag reported.

The reason for Drive’s demise is so the company can focus on Amazon Photos, according to PCMag.

To facilitate the removal of the Drive service, the app will be taken down from the iOS and Android app stores on Oct. 31.

Files will no longer be able to be uploaded to Drive starting Jan. 31, 2023. Users will still be able to view and download files at that time.

The service will be shut down on Dec. 31, 2023. Until that date, users will still be able to download whatever isn’t supported by the newer system. Photos will automatically be transferred to the Amazon Photos platform, where there is unlimited photo storage and free video storage of up to 5 GB, Kiplinger reported.

Additional video storage is available for purchase.

While Drive is going away in about a year and a half, Amazon will still support the storage of photos on its Amazon Photos service, PCMag reported.

Amazon Prime costs about $139 a year for most members. It had been $119 annually, but the company announced the price increase in February, CNBC reported.

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