What is Google Backup and Sync and How Does it Work?

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Asif Ahmed
Asif Ahmedhttp://techtippr.com
Founder and Cheif Editor of Techtippr, Get in touch with me on Twitter or Enjoy my Stories on Instagram. I think they are interesting. :-)

In this article, let’s understand what Google Backup and Sync is, and how it actually works so that you can make the best use of it.

Over the years, Google has made many improvements to its cloud storage system. Earlier it was Google Docs, which offered different web apps for creating or accessing documents, be it a simple Doc file, a PPT or a Spreadsheet. It was Google’s answer to Microsoft Office Suite.

Google later rebranded it and brought Google Drive, which was a kind of competition to Dropbox, which is another great cloud storage service.

And like Dropbox, it offered an app for both Mac and PC which would give you a native, folder-like, user interface where you can put files and it gets synced to the cloud automatically.

A similar type of software was also available for Google Photos, another service of Google, which was separated from Google Plus. All the Google Plus was later shut down but Google photos continue to gain users as well as my appreciation.

And in an attempt to simplify their services even further, they retired the Google Drive app for Windows and Mac and brought a new app called Backup and Sync, which also offered the functionality of uploading photos and videos to Google Photos.

So, now Google has got one unified app called Backup and Sync app, which is available for both Windows and Mac, and you can upload files to Google Drive as well as add [hotos and videos to Google photos.

Download Backup and Sync app on your Mac or PC

You can download the backup and sync app from Google Drive itself but the following this link.

The page offers two different apps, Backup and Sync for Personal and Drive File Stream for Business. If you are not using Google’s paid subscription for business solutions, you can go with the personal, which is Backup and Sync app.

Once you have installed the app, you have to launch and login to it using your Google account. Once you have logged in, you will have to choose the folders that you want to continuously keep synced to Google Drive.

By default, it will give you the option to sync desktop, documents, pictures folder but you can also choose other folders to sync.

On the same page, you have the option to select the quality of photos you want to upload Google photos.

(Keep in mind that Google gives unlimited Storage for photos if you select the high quality, and if you want to upload images in original quality it will be counted in your 15 GB storage of your Google account.)

The app the app will ask you whether you want to sync all the files available in Google drive to your PC. You can do that if you think you have important files in Google drive which you may want when you are not connected to the internet.

Although you have the option to not sync your Google Drive files to the computer. Just uncheck the option on the second window that appears.

Once you are done with everything you can click on start and Google Drive will start doing it a job. And it will keep doing its job as long as the Google Drive icon appears in the taskbar.

How to access your computer files on Google Drive

Once you have installed the back and sync app on your computer, and it sings all your files he will be able to access all the files from anywhere by logging into your Google account.

When you open Google drive in a browser you will find a new section in the left sidebar, called Computers.

You will find the names of the computers where the backup and sync has been installed and under the Computers, you will be able to view the folders that have been synced.

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