[Ferret7446]

If it's under a sync utility, it's not really a copy. The point of a backup is if something happens to one copy, you still have the other copy.

If you have sync enabled, then if the cloud copy gets deleted (e.g., account compromise), so does your local "copy".

So GP's point stands.

(This is also why Syncthing, a Google Drive "replacement" of sorts, is careful to point out that it is not a backup)

[whatwhaaaaat]

Remind me the last time rsync (without a doubt a sync utility) purged someone’s local files?

We figured out these problems 20+ years ago.

[rcxdude]

If you set up bidirectional sync with rsync in a manner similar to google drive, you absolutely can wipe out the local copies as well. Backup utilities should generally be set up to only go in one direction, as opposed to both.