Anger as some Google cloud customers locked out of files

autotldr Bot , 7 months ago

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Click here to see the summaryGoogle Drive users have reacted angrily to a glitch leaving some unable to access files from the last six months. Google said it was investigating the issue which is affecting some users of its hugely popular cloud storage service. Users reacted angrily on Google’s support site, with one calling it “very devastating”, adding “the files are very important to me”. Enza Ianopollo, a data privacy expert at analyst firm Forrester, said the situation was a “big deal” for Google. Ms Ianopollo said business customers in particular would need to know exactly when and if their files had been accessed or altered - because it would be them rather than Google who would be liable for any data loss. If you are reading this page and can’t see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. — Saved 65% of original text.

peter , 7 months ago

I’m sure this will be an issue with displaying the files rather than the data being gone forever. Still a massive fuck up

sculd , 7 months ago

Another reminder to avoid Google products.

They don’t care and they don’t have any customer service.

Hirom , 7 months ago

I suspect users believe they don’t need to backup because of Google’s claims of high data availability.

On top of that, Drive don’t necessarily keep local copy of data, which is unfortunate if you loose (access to) data in the cloud.

Drive is cloud-native, which eliminates the need for local files and can minimise risk to your devices.

skullgiver , 7 months ago (edited 7 months ago)

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Hirom , 7 months ago

I assumed Google Cloud and Drive had the same availability garanties. Searching “Google Drive availability” on Google return the cloud availability page as 1s result. But you’re probably right, there’s never a SLA for free services.

If looking at the page for Google Drive’s paid version one can see some features and claims about the storage’s quality, emphasis mine:

Store, access, and share your files in one secure place

With centralized administration, data loss prevention, and Vault for Drive, you can easily manage users and file sharing to help meet data compliance needs.

workspace.google.com/products/drive/?hl=en

skullgiver , 7 months ago (edited 7 months ago)

deleted_by_author

Hirom , 7 months ago

That’s true. It’s because the name is misleading. So-called Data Loss Prevention (DLP) features are really Data Leak Prevention features.

CephalonKappa , 7 months ago

The cloud is just someone else’s computer and hard drives are cheap. Always keep a local copy.