According to a News article from the Land Down Under, Google Backup is coming soon to a computer near you. Now, with some remote online backup services such as Mozy or Carbonite, you’ll pay $4 or $5 per month to copy your data to some offsite servers and hard drives in case your PC is stolen or burned in a fire.

But, as with other services the online search giant offers, Google Backup will presumably be free. Now what will this mean, if this rumor happens to be true?

First, there will a rush of individuals and companies wanting a free remote backup service who are currently not using one or who are using one but want to discontinue paying for the service. Remember when Gmail rolled out and blew away Yahoo, Hotmail and other online email services in regard to storage?

The Google Backup service could push other paid services right out of business. Or, there may be enough people with Google trust issues who will continue using the other services regardless of the price.

Now, what will Google do with all of your data that it is storing for you? First, hopefully encrypt it so that even if there were to be a breach, no one would know what to do with your valuable information. Second, will Google take a peak at your data before encrypting it so they can study individuals and businesses at a micro-scale? This is anyone’s guess right now.

But, if Google Backup is in fact a new service coming soon, expect the privacy advocates to throw up a red flag and expect those not so concerned with privacy to flock to this new offering. Get ready to pack up and make way for Google Backup.

Filed under: Google