Big Tech companies like Amazon and Google have built many great products and had many significant failures. The latest of which comes this week with Amazon announcing that Amazon Cloud Drive will be deprecated in 2023.
While unfortunate, this does not come as a surprise to us. Amazon, Google, and others have shifted their focus towards backing up photos only. In Amazon Drive’s official FAQ, they say:
Q: Why is Amazon Drive being deprecated?
A: We are taking the opportunity to more fully focus our efforts on Amazon Photos to provide customers a dedicated solution for photos and video storage.
ElephantDrive was built to protect cherished memories, important documents, and critical files. This blog post will hopefully help you save any memories you may have once uploaded to Amazon Drive.
What important dates do I need to know around Amazon Drive shutting down?
October 31, 2022 – iOS and Android apps will be removed, and updates to these apps will be discontinued.
January 31, 2023 – Ability to upload files will be disabled on Cloud Drive.
December 31, 2023 – The last day you can download data from Amazon Drive. We know this seems far off, but we urge you to download your data today, before you forget.
How do I make sure I’m not paying for Amazon Drive? Can I get a refund?
According to Amazon’s official FAQ, you can go to Manage Storage Settings and click “Cancel my plan” if you have an active subscription, click “End now.” Amazon says you may be eligible for a refund if you cancel now, but if you do this, make sure you download everything first.
Is ElephantDrive offering Amazon Drive refugees a special discount?
We understand the pain moving your data causes. We’re proud that in the 16 years since we launched in 2006, we’ve never had to force our customers into this situation. ElephantDrive is profitable and growing still.
Former Amazon Drive users can use the coupon code “MEMORIES” to save 20% off of your first year.
How do I download my files from Amazon Drive?
To download your files, you need to go to amazon.com/clouddrive, select all the folders and files, and click the Download icon in the top navigation bar.
If you have a lot of files, Amazon says users with more than 5GB of files should use this method:
- Navigate to the Amazon Drive apps page here.
- Click the “Download the app” link.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to install the app and set up your account.
- Once you see the Amazon Photos Desktop app homescreen, click “Download” in the left navigation.
- From here select “Download folder(s)”.
- To ensure all files in Amazon Drive are selected to download, select the “All” folder, then click “Download to” and follow the prompts to save your files locally.
- A screen that shows your file download progress will appear.
Amazon says photos and videos will continue to be stored; do I need to move those as well?
Amazon Prime members will continue to access Amazon Photos (fka Prime Photos), so if you have photos or videos (supported file types can be found here), these should automatically be transferred.
What makes ElephantDrive the best personal cloud backup option for me?
ElephantDrive has been one of the original AWS S3 partners since 2006. In 2022, we were acquired by JungleDisk (recently rebranded as CyberFortress). We’re well-funded, experts in cloud storage, and mission-driven.
You can get started with ElephantDrive for $100/year (+ 25% off with coupon code DRIVE), and families can get started for $200/year or $20/year per family member.
We have also set up a special email address for former Amazon Drive users who need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at amazondrive@35.83.19.187 with any questions!
