Google’s once popular image organizing service Picasa is set to finally shut down on March 15th, 2016.
The fifteen-year-old image editing/organizing platform, which actually hasn’t been update in nearly five years, was once one of Google’s most popular web applications. Google says it made the decision to close the service because it feels Picasa took away from its Google Photos platform.
“We believe we can create a much better experience by focusing on one service that provides more functionality and works across mobile and desktop, rather than divide our efforts across two different products,” said Google in a statement sent to MobileSyrup.
Following its closure date, Google says users will be able to view Picasa web albums through a new archived gallery, as well as via Google Photos.
Picasa is seen by many as being ahead of its time and is one of the first web-based photo management platforms, launching even before Yahoo’s Flickr photograph sharing service.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this transition causes, but we want to assure you that we are doing this with the aim of providing the best photos experience possible. Google Photos is a new and smarter product, that offers a better platform for us to build amazing experiences and features for you in the future,” continues Google in the statement.
Some Picasa API functions are set to remain active, which could mean apps that utilize the service will still retain at least some functionality, although Google has not been clear about this.
[source]Google[/source]
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