Amazon Drive is Ending December 31, 2023

Note: This article is not about any of the “normal” topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, thousands of genealogists are also frequent users of Amazon Drive for photo storage and for making backup copies of all sorts of files so I am posting this brief article to inform them of a recent announcement:

The following is an excerpt of an announcement from Amazon:

Beginning December 31, 2023, files stored on Amazon Drive will no longer be available to customers. As part of retiring Amazon Drive, after January 31, 2023, Amazon will no longer support uploading files on the Amazon Drive website. You will still have the ability to review and download your files until December 31, 2023.

Here are the steps you need to take:

Use Amazon Photos to access your photos and videos moving forward. Your Amazon Drive photo and video files are available to you through Amazon Photos. To access your photos and videos, please sign in to the Amazon Photos website or download the Amazon Photos app for iOS or Android.

Do not delete your photo and video files from your Amazon Drive account if you would like to access them through Amazon Photos. While Amazon Drive and Amazon Photos are separate services, they access the same photo and video files, so any photo or video deleted on Amazon Drive will no longer be available through Amazon Photos and will be permanently removed from Amazon after 30 days.

Review and download your non-photo and non-video files from the Amazon Drive website by December 31, 2023. We recommend using the Amazon Drive website to review and download your non-photo and non-video files from Amazon Drive. If you are having trouble downloading your files on the web app due to size limitations, we recommend using the Amazon Photos Desktop app to download and save your files. More instructions for using the Amazon Photos desktop app can be found on our FAQ page.
Step-by-step instructions for using Amazon Photos, deleting and downloading your files, managing your paid subscription, and resources for additional help can be found on our FAQ page.

Thank you for being an Amazon customer.

The Amazon Drive team