GLOBAL, MAY 27, 2013 – Way back in October 2011, Google announced that it would be shuttering its Buzz social-networking, messaging and microblogging tool, and has been engaged in slowly doing so between then and now.
Google has just announced the final step in the shutdown. It will save two kinds of copies of users’ Buzz posts to their online Google Drive accounts. These files will not count against users’ storage limits.
The first kind of file will be private, incorporating access to both public and private posts authored, and thus only accessible to users themselves. The second will contain only copies of public posts, and can be viewed by anyone who has a link to these posts (which may appear in search results and on one’s Google Profile). These files will be treated the same as all other Drive files once created – meaning that they can be downloaded, have their security settings changed or deleted as users choose.
Google hastens to add that comments made on other users’ posts will only be saved on their files – ostensibly giving them control of comments others may have made on private posts (said comments can be exposed to public view if a user decides to make a private post public). Google says that those who wish to avoid the possibility of this occurrence should delete their Buzz content.
Google will begin to save these files into users’ Google Drive accounts on or after July 17, 2013.
