Google browser sync finally dead?

January 6, 2009 3:19 PM

Does anyone know if Google Browser Sync has finally been 'retired'? I know that the add-on hasn't been available for download since mid-2008. Google indicated that they'd continue to make the facility available throughout 2008. When connecting this morning, I got a '502: Bad Gateway' alert, indicating that an error had occurred and suggesting 'try again later'. I'm aware of alternative solutions, thanks; I just want to know if there's any official word to indicate that Google has withdrawn the service, in which case I'll migrate to Foxmarks or Mozilla Weave. So far I haven't been able to confirm my suspicions, so I thought I'd wave to the MeFite community for assistance.
posted by davemack to computers & internet (7 comments total)

It's official.
posted by puckupdate at 3:58 PM on January 6

Especially annoying because nothing now syncs extensions.
posted by katrielalex at 4:54 PM on January 6

puckupdate: thanks, I was aware of that (in fact I tend to rely on Lifehacker for such information), so I know I was on 'borrowed time'; the Google browser sync service was working normally yesterday (5 January), but today all I've been getting is the error message, suggesting, perhaps, that they've shut off access to the server that holds our/my information -- however, as far as I can tell, there has been no official announcement that this is what has happened.
posted by davemack at 5:27 PM on January 6

Just a thumbs up for Foxmarks.. I've been using them for a few weeks and it works WAY better than Google sync ever did.
posted by cowmix at 7:59 PM on January 6

The the FAQs mention support through 2008.

And apparently, it was generating a message about when it would stop working.

Is there another kind of official announcement you were looking for? They seem to have been pretty open about Jan. 1 being its last day, and then probably gave users a few days of a grace period.
posted by puckupdate at 2:48 AM on January 7

Note about Weave: unless you plan to set up your own service, weave is in closed beta.
posted by pwnguin at 3:06 AM on January 7

many thanks for the responses; I've migrated to Foxmarks, as I should have done before the end of 2008, and am very impressed.
posted by davemack at 4:36 AM on January 7