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Level 6

All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

@ArielleM, @JeslynL

 

In this post after a summary of what happened so far to the Panoramio photos, I try to understand how things are.

 

First message “Panoramio no longer available after November 4, 2016”

Here a copy of the mail sent to all the Panoramio users ( link )

What Google Panoramio team declared about Google Album Archive

A) “Because you have a Google account linked with your Panoramio account, we will automatically copy your Panoramio photos to the Google Album Archive when Panoramio is retired in November 2017. (Copied photos will not use any of your Google storage quota).”

What Google declare about Photos in Google Maps

B) “ If you activate Google+ on your account, then eligible images and your View Counts will be transferred into Google Maps and will be visible when you sign in to Maps and access the Contributions screen from the main menu. Many of your Panoramio photos may already be counted.”

 

What happened really after November 4, 2016

The Panoramio site remains alive but heavily mutilated.

Starting November 4, 2016, the Panoramio photos of the users who linked their Google's account with their Panoramio account were visible in Google Maps either via the desktop browser or via the app.
But:

- no view counts

- POI assigned by Google via software. Normally the POI assigned was the province or the county where the coordinates were located. Somtime the POI was Uknown.

 

The December 1, 2017 (November ends at the latest at 30) nothing happened of what declared about Panoramio photos in Google maps nor in Google album archive.

The definitive closure of Panoramio arrived on January 29, 2018 about 2 months later than stated.

 

Final closure messsage (Panoramio no longer available after January 29. 2018)

Here a copy of the mail sent to all the Panoramio users. ( link )

What Google Panoramio team declared in the mail confirms exactly the A) and B) statements declared the 4th november 2016

To further confirm reading the FAQ on the URL http://www.panoramio.com/maps-faq Google says:

1. What happened to my Panoramio data?

If your Panoramio profile was linked with your Google account, then all your Panoramio photos are being copied to your Google Album Archive at full resolution (this could take a few weeks)

2. Will my Panoramio photos continue to appear in Google Earth and Google Maps?

If your Panoramio photos were appearing in Google Maps with the name of your Google Account, then they will continue to appear along with their original view counts. If they were only attributed to your Panoramio username, they will no longer appear. You can view and manage photos by signing in to Google Maps and accessing the Contributions screen from the main menu. “

But what happened really from January, 29th 2018 to today

1.The Panoramio site was closed permanently

 

2. Album archive copy

The copy has never done completely. I have only a few photos (11 on a total of 363) and some duplicated. That happened, in my case, during the march 2018. It seems me a test.
It’s important to remeber that Google declare few weeks to complete the operation.

 

3. Panoramio photos in Google maps

January 29,2018

In this date (probably connected with the closure of Panoramio site), Panoramio photos were not more viewable (black screen) in the desktop browser environment.

The problem, here the link , has been recognized by Google thanks to the help of google moderators but has never been resolved.

May 5, 2018

The automatic POI assignation was removed.
On desktop browser the POI field of the photos thumbnail (right navigator) became “Unknown” and on GM app on smartphone the POI field became “View place”.

June 4,2018
All Panoramio photo were removed from Google maps.
Really, in my case, 1 photo of 363 remains.

 

To conclude, It seems a mess.

Google Panoramio team is at least 7 month late on what officially declared, what declared didn’t happen or happened something different.

Google owns GM and Panoramio and has the right to do what it thinks is optimal for its business like Google explained clearly in the above declarations.
Likewise, Google
is free to decide to change its mind and change what has previously declared.

But, respecting the users , what I would expect would be an official written message from Google Panoramio team to explain what's happening, if something has changed compared to what is officially written and hopefully what will happen in the next future.

In the absence of communications is worth what Google Panoramio team has officially written and therefore it would be desirable an explanation of delays and facts different from what was declared..

 

In this regard, I would like to point out that mr. Travis, of the Google Earth team, has been informing the users of what is happening in a very different way.

Here the link https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/maps/yDLD3TpS1WQ

Provided that Google still has the intention to publish the Panoramio photos in Google maps, I only mention the fact that the photos in GM are made up of three different sets :

- foto uploaded directly in GM (POI mandatory chosen by user and photo snapped on POI coordinates),
- foto uploaded by street view (POI mandatory chosen by user but photo snapped on the coordinates of the place where the photo is taken),
- foto uploaded from Panoramio (no POI chosen by user photo snapped on the coordinates of the place where the photo is taken).

In this last case only by adopting the technical approach of the street view photos and allowing the photo owner to add the POI, will allow the contributor of ex panoramio pic to enhance the photos obtaining a score as in the other two sets .

 

Best regards

Verba volant, scripta manent”

 

12 comments
Level 6

Re: All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

@ErmesT

Le chiedo un consiglio per questo post.

Chi è meglio che io scelga, ovvero che criterio usare per scegliere, tra i Google coordinator presenti nella lista che mi ha inviato.

Il motivo è che JeslynL non c'è più in lista e ArielleM è una Googler e quindi alla luce del post di TraciC non sono certo che sia efficace citarla nel mio post.

La ringrazio per la disponibilità e la saluto cordialmente.

 

Connect Moderator

Re: All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

Level 6

Re: All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

Linked to the first post, but this time sent to active coordinators.

@Atsukot, @MarinSt

 

Hi all.
I write this post to send it to two active google coordinators. In the first post I entered two invalid names
(sorry).
I kindly ask if, after reading my first post, you can
give me an explanation about the disappearance of all the photos ex Panoramio in Google Maps.
The only
indirect news on the subject, by Google, are in the Google Maps & Earth Help Forum.

Specifically in the thread "What happened to Google Earth old Panoramio photos that users uploaded?", you can read 3 official posts from the Google Earth Team that informs users about what's happening in Google Earth evironment.
On the contrary,
about the old Panoramio photos in Google Maps, now disappeared, there is no message from the Google Maps Team, nor in the help forum, nor in the local guides connect forum.

I note that the ex Panoramio photos were present in GM from a lot of time and suddenly disappeared in June 2018 without any warning.

I’m looking for your help.

Thanks.

Former Google Contributor

Re: All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

Thank you! @ErmesT

 

Hello @lpiazzi50, this thread may answer to your question about Panoramio: What happened to Google earth old panoramio photos that users uploaded?.

 

If not, please feel free to ask your question directly to Google Earth team in the Help Forum. Thank you!

 

Level 6

Re: All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

Thank you @Atsukot for your answer.

I am a bit perplexed.

1. In my previous post I indicated to you the post "What happened to Google Earth old Panoramio photos that users uploaded?" (that i read completely before to write here) as important, but focused on Google Earth, and you suggest me to read the same post. Sorry, it's very difficult to understand why you suggest me something that I before suggested to you.

2. Further, you suggest me to ask to the Google Earth team. Reading what Travis of Google Earth team wrote, spoke of a different team about the photo in Maps, the Google Maps photos team.

Are you indicating officially that the Google Earth team deals with the issues of ex Panoramio Photos also in Google Maps?

Last but not least, a question yet. This is my second post about Panoramio issues. The first one, linked in the opening post of this thread, was managed by a Google moderator and by a Googler, here, in the local guide connect forum.

In this second post you, Google moderator of Local Guide Connect, suggest me to switch to the Help Forum.

Why? In other terms, which is the forum that is better to target opening a case?

Thank you for your help and your patience

 

 

Level 6

Re: All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

@Atsukot

I suggest you this post written by Travis of the Google Earth team.

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/maps/yDLD3TpS1WQ

The subject is also about managing photos of Panoramio in Google Earth like the one you suggested.

In the post of April 7, he wrote, among other things,: "We’re also talking to the Google Maps photos team in hopes of favoring the display of these photos instead of their snapped-to-place ones in our layer."

It's clear that there are two teams and the problem I referred in this thread falls within the sphere of competence of Google maps and not of Google Earth.

For this reason the post that you suggest me, related to the management of Panoramio photos in Google Earth after the Panoramio closure, doesn't help to understand why the Panoramio photos disappeared from Google maps.

Best regards. Thanks.

 

 

Former Google Contributor

Re: All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

Hello @lpiazzi50, since your question is about the Panoramio, please ask the question directly to Google Mpas team or Google Earth team on Help Forum.

Level 6

Re: All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

@Atsukot, @ErmesT

Thanks. I will do like you suggest.

But I have a question for you.

The problem affects all the Google Maps users to which Google transferred the ex Panoramio photos.

The whole Panoramio photos was about 135 millions.

It doesn't matter from where and when the photos have been uploaded in GM, what matters is that Google Maps lost a lot of photos. Surely millions.

In your opinion is this a Google Maps problem or not?

Best regards.

Level 6

Re: All Panoramio photos removed from Google Maps. What are the final intentions of Google?

There are some news about the Ex panoramio pics.

1. The pics disappeared from GM the June 4,2018 reappeared today September 2,2018. Really in my case reappeared 169 pic of 363.

A little is better than nothing 🙂

2. The pics are viewable in the desktop environment too (no more black screen); i hope the problem is finally solved.

3. The pics preserve the original caption.

4. Each pics owns a view counter. The description of the POI is quite always "unknown place".

Check if something like this happened with your photos.

 

Googles Album Archive.

I tried to do a quantitative check and it seems me that all my ex Panoramio pics was copied into the Archive.

 

What is still missing are the points assigned to the photos, but here the issue, described several times in other posts, comes from the impossibility for the user to assign a POI to the photos, leaving the geographical coordinates active in analogy with what happens with the spherical photos taken with street view app.

Bye.

Let's see how things evolve.