Google clears the air on Google+ Photos closure

Google+ Photos is out, Google Photos is in. That’s the news if you haven’t heard, but in case you still aren’t sure what, exactly, that means for you and your photos a Googler has chimed in to rest concerns once and for all.

Here’s the skinny:

• You can still post photos and video to Google+ when you submit a post. Nothing about that will change at all.
• The photos you’ve shared to date, including comments, shares and +1s, are all still on your profile under “Photos.”
• The photo backup, editing and album management part will all move to Google Photos.

And there you have it. Google says their motive for change was to simply cut back on confusion, as it made little sense to have both Google Photos and Google+ Photos.

Some would argue there’s more to it than that — such as a slow plan to chop Google+ up and turn various elements of the service into services of their own — but there’s nothing official (or concrete) to support those notions. The changes go into effect starting August 1st so be prepared to adapt once that day comes.