Google Drive is ending app support for Windows 8 and 8.1

Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeGoogle Drive’s desktop app will soon no longer support Windows 8 and 8.1. In a support page spotted by Android Police, Google says it’s ending support for both versions in August of this...

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Jun 8, 2023 - 21:02
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Google Drive is ending app support for Windows 8 and 8.1

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The desktop app will also no longer support the 32-bit version of Windows 10.

By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Jun 8, 2023, 2:31 PM UTC|

An image showing the Google Drive logo on a blue background

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google Drive’s desktop app will soon no longer support Windows 8 and 8.1. In a support page spotted by Android Police, Google says it’s ending support for both versions in August of this year, along with the 32-bit version of Windows 10.

The desktop app for Google Drive allows you to sync the files and folders on your computer with the cloud storage service as well as back up any photos and videos to Google Photos. From August on, users on Windows 8 / 8.1 or those who run the 32-bit version of Windows 10 won’t be able to use the app to sync or back up their files through the app.

This update doesn’t mean affected users can’t use Drive through their browsers, though — given that they use one that actually supports their operating systems — but they might want to consider upgrading their computer if they want to keep syncing their files.

The book is slowly closing on the Windows 8 / 8.1 era. Microsoft cut off the aging operating systems from security updates and technical support in January, while Google released the first version of Chrome that doesn’t support Windows 7 and Windows 8 / 8.1 in February. Mozilla Firefox also has plans to end security updates for Windows 7 and Windows 8 / 8.1 next year.