Could Google cut InSync off?

Hi,

I have recently deleted my Dropbox account because of Dropbox’s actions lately by first crippling photo sync and now drop support for nearly all Linux file systems. I took part in a discussion around this on the Dropbox forums and talked about how I have been using the InSync/Google Drive solution on Linux for years. Several people posted back that it is risky to rely on InSync since “Google can at any time cut them [InSync] off by changing their API’s or simply block access…”. Most of these posts discussing alternatives to Dropbox have since been removed by Dropbox forums admin because they discuss Dropbox alternative thus being off topic

I was wondering though if they do have a point? Could Google suddenly just cut you guys, and all users of InSync, off without warning? Do you have some kind of agreement with Google that secures access to Drive for your client, or are we all trusting that Google will continue to allow access for InSync (and other apps)? I am not only using InSync/Google Drive, so I would be pretty lost if Google cut the one reliable way to sync from Linux to Google Drive.

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Yes, they could. At the end of the day, third party clients are at the mercy of the service provider, be it Google, Dropbox, Microsoft, or Amazon… There’s no way around that.

However, I think it’s highly unlikely. Google’s client ID issuance is entirely free and open, with very loose policing. API documentations are excellent and come with easy experimentation integrated into their webpages. It’s always had a good reputation for being developer-friendly. This is in contrast to some other service providers.

If Google started tightening their client ID issuance procedure and policing, then there’d be some reason to worry, and it’d really help if Insync has some personal contact within Google.
But as of now, I don’t see a reason for concern.

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Fantastic points raised, @Hawk. :slight_smile: The downside of this happening is far greater than the upside that we don’t see this happening, at least anytime soon.

Has or had? As in: Insync has a contact or they wish they had? I’ll assume the latter :slight_smile:

I have zero concerns about Big G closing off Drive’s API. After all, most great features Google provides with their products are sourced from communities like this one. Relax :sunny:

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