Google will permanently stop Panoramio on November 4th

Google will definitively pull the plug on its Panoramio photo service on November 4. The internet giant says the service can now be closed as the photo tools and local guides feature in Google Maps have come to fruition, which would now make the service really obsolete.

Google had been planning to end Panoramio for some time, but postponed it because the community indicated that there would be no decent alternative for it. It did so in the form of a petition that reached just over 10,000 signatures. Google states in an email that the developments in the field of Maps now finally mean the end of Panoramio. The map service now also allows users to upload photos of places, write reviews, add details such as opening times and more.

The photos on Panoramio will remain accessible for another year after November 4. Then they are automatically copied in full resolution to the Google Album Archive, without taking up additional storage space from user accounts. The prerequisite for this is a profile that is linked to Google+. The images will also continue to appear in Google Maps, as they do now, unless users delete them themselves in Google Maps. It is also possible to export photos in a .zip file. If you want to completely turn your back on Google, you can also remove all of your data from both Panoramio and Google Maps.

Panoramio was started in 2005 by two Spanish entrepreneurs. The service is a combination of a world map and a photo album, allowing users to easily explore new environments. Panoramio was acquired by Google in 2007. In the following year, Google decided to link the photos to Google maps to give the photos more exposure and give users more opportunities to explore. In 2014, the intention to close Panoramio was declared by Google, but that has been postponed until now due to the petition.