Google rolled out an update to its Picasa photo manager with a new utility to perform automatic backups to Google+.

Google is stepping up initiatives to popularize its community network by unveiling a new utility called Google+ Auto Backup. Comes with Picasa, it does not however interact at all with it and is in the form of a standalone software. Specifically, the user can configure their Google Account and choose to automate the backup of his shots directly on his Google+ profile.

Google+ Auto Backup prompts you to select local files and then choose to automatically transfer a copy snapshots added to these, either full size (within the limits of available storage Drive) or unlimited free manner by 2048 pixels. The application also proposes to automate the backup when a camera or SD card is connected. When this option is selected the user will be able to make a second backup locally in the folder of your choice and even that of a second storage service such as Dropbox or SkyDrive.

Picasa

Automatic backup is already present on Android devices and at Google it comes to better compete with Apple OS X since it will also be possible to migrate the iPhoto library directly on Google+, but with additional storage rates are more attractive than those of iCloud.

Note that by default, uploaded photos will be private.