"Picasa Web Albums are now compatible with your Google Profile! Now when you use Picasa Web Albums, you can use the same profile name and photo that you use on your Google Profile. Your Picasa Web Albums will link to your Google Profile, and your profile will link to your public albums," informs Google's photo service.
After linking your Google Profile with Picasa Web Albums, you can edit the profile and remove the link to your public albums.
If you've previously used an alias to hide your Gmail address from the URL, you can no longer use it after merging the profiles. The only option you have is to use the same ID number from Google Profiles.
It's interesting that Picasa Web's code calls this feature "merged profiles softlaunch", which suggests that users aren't required to merge profiles, but that will change in the future.
Very nice, but I still miss better integration between people I tag at Picasa Web and my Google Contacts (why two separated photos for example?). Should be an integrated profile at both.
ReplyDeleteAlso, using Picasa at my desktop I can set someone Google Contacts Thumbnail, it would be great to do the same using Picasa Web.
So is GoogleMe supposed to be built around Google Profiles as the glue to bind together all of their discrete services?
ReplyDeletei can't find the setting to link the two accounts ... where can i find it?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question. It should be displayed as a promotional message in the right sidebar.
ReplyDeleteI don't want such integration, as long as its a choice its fine. Should they make it compulsory I (and I suspect many others) will drop Google Picasa!
ReplyDeleteYet more potential invasion of privacy.
Marcus
Hi Marcus, I'm Brian from the Picasa team. You still have the option to use a random number string in your Picasa Web and Google Profile URLs to help mask your username. Do you still feel like this option is a potential invasion of privacy? Can you explain what you mean so I can take another look from your perspective? Cheers.
ReplyDeletePicasa is linked to Google, great! But how to I link all these "Unknown" people to a Google contact? And for those that I really don't want to be a Google contact (like kids) how can I link them with a name but not a Google contact? Is this possible? The fact that it keeps adding "Unknown" to my Other Contacts is driving me crazy.
ReplyDeleteBefore I link these, I'm curious if I will be able to use my original Picasaweb URL?
ReplyDeleteIt's suggesting it will use my google account username in the URL going forward, which is fine, but will the existing links to the original URL break?
dave's question is exactly my question, since i have hundreds of links to picasa, and i fear having to change these all manually
ReplyDeleteDave and Frank, great question. If you link your Picasa Web account to your Google Profile and update your Picasa Web URL, your album links will be updated to reflect the change. We'll also redirect visits to your old URL to your updated URL. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteNikki, by asking users to link their Picasa Web accounts with a Google Profile, it should help add names to those unknown contacts in the process. Thanks for being so patient.
I accidentally clicked ok. Is there a way to revert back? For example, when I have Picasa link in an Ebay auction or CL ad, I do not want the public to see my Google profile (name/nickname/photo.) Thanks.
ReplyDelete@Brian Rose...Will it become compulsory to merge the accounts in the future? One of my favorite options of Picasa was that I could pick and use any URL I wished, further personalizing my photo site. Also, by linking the public photo site (searchable via search engines) with a users login-id and gmail address, this potentially increases the possibility of phishing, stalking, account theft and online harassment. So the once anonymous photo sharing user has two choices (if he/she wishes to remain anonymous and not use an ugly random string of numbers): 1. Make the profile private defeating the purpose of open internet or 2. Having to get a separate gmail address for their Picasa URL. Neither options are desirable for me.
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand the increased security and convenience of single login, I wish you could merge the accounts and still keep all gmail profile tags separate from Picasa AND still be able to retain the unique individual URL. The random number string is not an appealing option. How do you tell someone..."oh just check out my pictures on picasa...all you have to do is memorize this really long and annoying random string of numbers"?
I no longer have the "not now" button. Every bloody time I access my account it keeps showing me the blasted screen that you highlight in the screenshot above.
ReplyDeleteWTF.
Get rid of this, i DONT want to link crap.
@Mike, did you by chance managed to get rid of it? is it possible at all?
ReplyDeleteThis is really ridiculous. First the Buzz disaster and now I'm being required to create a public profile to link to my Picasa albums. This should be an option, not mandatory. I do not want a stupid Google public profile. I've gradually made the shift over to Google products but if this continues, I suppose I'll have to find other options that respect privacy a bit more.
ReplyDeleteAgree completely with: "This is really ridiculous. First the Buzz disaster and now I'm being required to create a public profile to link to my Picasa albums. This should be an option, not mandatory. I do not want a stupid Google public profile. I've gradually made the shift over to Google products but if this continues, I suppose I'll have to find other options that respect privacy a bit more."
ReplyDeleteThe "link profile" crap does not give up. One has to click "X" every time the page loads if you don't want a public profile.
ReplyDeleteOn top of that, if you do not, not only it creates a public-profile, but your public-profile is not configure to "maximize" privacy!
Agree with above poster. I do NOT WANT to link anything. Geez, leave well enough alone. Now it looks like I have to have a public Google profile to continue using Picasa. WTF?!!
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you what, I'll find another place to host my pictures. I'm a paying member but this makes me furious enough to ditch Picasa.
Hi Brian from the Picasa team.
ReplyDeleteI can't speak directly for Marcus (who was concerned about privacy), but from my perspective, anything compulsory is unattractive. You wrote, "You still have the option to use a random number string in your Picasa Web and Google Profile URLs to help mask your username."
But privacy shouldn't be an option; it should be the default. No one should have to link profiles, then go into settings and make changes. It isn't impossible to find instructions to do this, but what we know about human behavior is that most people are likely to take the path of least resistance. Google surely knows this, and is taking advantage of that fact. Most people would have to spend time and effort just to maintain a level of privacy that was theirs automatically in the first place.
I am stopped from sharing my Picasa by this message
ReplyDeletePlease return to http://picasaweb.google.com/home to link your Google Profile before you send emails to share photos.
What can I do?
I absolutely refuse to create a Google profile. I will delete my account with all of the years of email and all of the pictures in my account before I create a profile! There is absolutely no need for Google to collect this information, whether or not the plan to protect it. There's just no reason to collect it period.
ReplyDeleteI see the Google employees everywhere asking users why they don't want it - I feel VERY strongly that the burden is on Google to tell me why they *NEED* this information. Not why they want it. Not why they think that it will make my "experience better" but why the *NEED* it. If I can't post comments or something like that to public places or to other peoples accounts without providing some personal information, I can almost see that. The solution - Don't let me post those comments.
I *WILL* close my accounts and I will stop using Google as a search engine unless Google backs down on the profile issue. The ONLY think that Google can do to change my mind is to make profile creation absolutely optional.
Public profile to share an album...Good bye Picasa, it was nice while it lasted.
ReplyDeleteI will look to another service to host my pics
ReplyDeleteVery annnoying. So annoying that it does make me want to look elsewhere for photo storage. You can just select the link to you picassa folder and share that link.
ReplyDeleteThis is total crap. Google now shuts off the ability to share an album if the user has not linked their Google profile to their Picasa albums.
ReplyDeleteKiss my tush, Google.
Google: You have really screwed up a good service. I have tried everything to "link" and I get 500 INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR. So now what do I do?
ReplyDeleteYou have made it impossible to share photo albums. Do you have a better service to recommend now that your service no longer is functional? I have spent a lot of time setting up my albums and now all of that effort is lost. I am not very happy with Google .
Google Profile? Very Bad Idea. Do Not Want. I typically love almost everything that Google does, but are you kidding me with this?!
ReplyDeleteAlso, for the record, Buzz was a Very Bad Idea too.
I agree with people who said the creation of public profile should be OPTIONAL, not mandatory. I am really sorry because I liked picasa a lot, I was just about to buy storage and now I am having a lot of second thoughts and I am not sure if I'll even stick with picasa anymore :( ...
ReplyDeleteWhat a stupid and 'forced' OPTION... it is not an option if yhou want to share your photos with other people...
ReplyDeleteI do not want to create a profile so that Google can (inadvertantly) flog it in future...
I have a particular problem with having to be constantly nagged to do something I simply don't want to do by an impersonal company. I can't access my own photos without yet another box forcing me to find the 'x' (sometimes it doesn't show up) to close. Why can't companies with so many users simply add on opt-out? More to the point, why do they feel the need to pretend concerns about privacy are not worth recognising? I happen to be a teacher and the last thing I want is students accessing photos. I read Google's FAQ page- with all my marks and a new baby this week (:)) the last thing I want to do is waste more time jumping through hoops just to appease a business. Thankfully I'm not in China anymore or else I could get into serious trouble with the photos that appear from my anti-regime blog. And then where does it end? Will I be unable to read the NY Times without more links to Google or Blogger getting in the way a la Facebook?
ReplyDeleteIf this becomes compulsory I will be dropping Picasa (which I really like) and reverting to sending images in emails. I don't want to do this but I don't like the disingenuous, opt-out, invasion of privacy by stealth nature of this change.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to "don't be evil"? Why not opt-in?
I agree with all the guys about creation of public profile is a crap.its very annoying,it can be optional but not mandatory.I have already shifted from picasa,I do not use picasa anymore.Google hase to realise that people has more options out there to share photos,they should not make it mandatory.
ReplyDeleteI'm a paying member and I'm pissed. Need to look to see why the freak this was snuck in ; it was not what I signed up for when I signed up for storage. Opt out is fine, but mandatory ? I do not want to link to everyone and their aunt and hope Google will bloody well respect that. Google, you are late to the public profile and facebook-ish features by a few years, do not arm twist your customers into helping you get there.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agreed - I have specifically chosen to DELETE my Google Profile, which I do not want online - but now find that Picasa's functionality is limited. This really sucks and I'll also move away from Picasa unless Google changes this; as Anonymous above says, Google, you are too late and people are already moving away from actually wanting all their personal information to be online. Get rid of it!!!
ReplyDeleteUnimpressed at this attempt to force Picasa users to use Google Profile. Yes, you can choose not to link it, but then there's that annoying pop-up each time you log on.
ReplyDeleteWill be looking for an alternative.
OK, this is an example of having to flush the toilet to make toast. I used to just share the album with myself, then forward THAT email to all my contacts via OUTLOOK. What is going on here? AND since I said, "Later" I can't even find where to do the damn link.
ReplyDeleteGoodbye Picasa
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to know you
Now you are getting old and demanding
I don't mind paying a little for somebody
that will satisfy my needs without asking me
to satisfy theirs.
I finally got to know your real profile.
You are uggly after all.
How do I stop this modal from popping up and asking to link my accounts. I don't want to link them, please stop bothering me about it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, just deleted my profile and switched to a 'numbered' URL so my anonymous email address can now actually still be anonymous. Thanks google for messing up a good thing. I will be switching over to some other platform, probably flickr, and I'm a paying customer. Glad to have known ya for this long, too bad it now stinks.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering why can't anyone see my Picasa web album on line and why isn't showing on the Google search
ReplyDeleteI do not want to use my profile with Picasa web albums. If I have to, I'm done with Picasa and I will close my account.
ReplyDeleteThis is perfect, thanks for the advice. I think we will see even more features as they continue to integrate Google services under the Plus umbrella.
ReplyDeleteMy picasaweb has linked to my account, somehow, from my homepage at picasaweb on my computer after logined into my Gmail account, I can't see the picasaweb home with any link to my Gmail account, something like https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos
ReplyDeleteCan I share this url to my friends to see all my open album ?
Thanks
Go to the settings page to find the gallery's URL: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/settings
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex
ReplyDeleteThanks, I got the url of my photo home page. Learned a new trick. The setting is hidden under the option button, not easy to find.
Tian
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteFrom times to times I would like to share pictures anonymously to different forums (such as snow pictures to a snowforum). However, if I share the link of my photo albums my name is still there and my photo appears...Isn't there a way in picasa albums to publish anonymously pictures (with a link not showing the name and without having the picture)? I wonder why this is not already implemented...
Thanks,
Fotis
I can't find any of my web albums on my picasa site. Where are they? I haven't done anything to my account. My web albums have disappeared. I am paying for storage on Picasa. Why can't I have access to my web albums and where are my pictures. Google has made picasa so hard to use now. Give me back my old picasa program. What is going on?
ReplyDeleteI can't find mine either. anyone know exactly how to find the old picasa web albums or are they permanently gone?
DeleteHere's the link you need. I always forget it but find it here where it isn't stated, but it is linked... http://support.google.com/picasa/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=39510
ReplyDeleteI guess it is based on you being logged into google.
https://picasaweb.google.com/home
Google is truly excellent! They’ve made everything in the internet so easy. They have created a lot of services, services that without which wouldn’t have made our virtual life today, possible. I really like their online storage feature. However, having one alone is not enough to handle all my files. It’s advisable to have lots of online storage to protect your files. Having lots of services like these means that you’ll have a backup if one of the services is currently inoperable.
ReplyDelete- Ruby Badcoe