Google migrates Buzz messages to Drive

Google has informed former users of the now closed Buzz service that it will place all posted postings on Google Drive. With this, the curtain finally falls for a service that Google once wanted to position against Twitter, among others.

Buzz was introduced by Google in February 2010. The service integrated, among other things, with the Gmail environment and, according to the search giant, could be used as a microblogging tool such as Twitter. In addition, it could be used for messaging purposes. The service was also compatible with mobile devices.

Partly because Google initially did not ask its users to participate in Buzz through an opt-in construction and the service had inadequate default privacy settings, the service immediately received a lot of criticism. The Federal Trade Commission, among others, tapped Google on its fingers. Moreover, the social network service was hardly embraced. In October 2011, Google already announced that it would be phasing out Buzz; on December 15 of the same year, the doors closed. The internet giant has been promoting its Google+ platform for social networking purposes for some time now.

Google has since emailed former Buzz users that it will take the final step in dismantling the social networking service on July 17, 2013. reports Engadget. In addition, all postings on Buzz will be available in two data files on Drive, Google’s cloud storage service. One file, which is not publicly accessible, contains both public and private postings, while a second public file contains all public Buzz messages. Old links to Buzz postings will redirect to these files on Drive.