Google has acquired the maker of Android and iOS app Odysee, a service that allows users to automatically back up full quality photos and videos on their home computer in addition to storing a copy in the cloud for added convenience.
Google confirmed the acquisition and said the group at Odysee is joining the Google+ team but didn't have anything more to share at this time.
As a result, the existing Odysee app will be shut down on February 23. Shortly after, users' photos and videos will be available as a downloadable archive according to a notice on the company's website. The app has already been pulled from the App Store and Google Play.
Odysee was seen as a good choice for those that are leery of relying strictly on the cloud as a backup solution. It also had an API that allowed developers to integrate its services into other apps as well as the ability to set up private photo sharing networks with friends and family. Seeing as how it only launched last November, it's unclear exactly how popular the app may have been or how much funding the startup may have raised in addition to the $760,000 it generated in seed money.
As TechCrunch points out, rumors have been circulating since at least the summer of 2014 that Google was interested in spinning off Photos from Google+ into a standalone service. Buying Odysee and implementing its offline storage technology certainly gives the search giant the ability to do that with a set of features that'd set it apart from the competition.
