Switching your photo library from Google Photos to iCloud Photos is now a breeze thanks to a new collaboration between Apple and Google.
Traditionally, transferring photos between platforms like Google Photos and iCloud Photos meant tedious manual downloads and uploads.
Thankfully, Apple and Google have introduced a new data transfer tool that simplifies the process of moving your photo library from Google Photos to iCloud Photos. This collaboration is part of the Data Transfer Initiative, an effort to make switching between online services smoother for users.
Beginning today, Apple and Google are expanding on their direct data transfer offerings to allow users of Google Photos to transfer their collections directly to iCloud Photos. This complements and completes the existing transfers that were first made possible from iCloud Photos to Google Photos and fulfills a core Data Transfer Initiative (DTI) principle of reciprocity. The offering from Apple and Google will be rolling out over the next week and is the newest tool powered by the open source Data Transfer Project (DTP) technology stack, joining existing direct portability tools available to billions of people today offered by DTI and its founding partners Apple, Google, and Meta.
Steps to transfer
Here’s a step-by-step guide to transferring your Google Photos to iCloud Photos:
- Access Google Takeout:
- Visit Google Takeout.
- Sign in with your Google account.
- Select data to transfer:
- In Google Takeout, select “Google Photos” as the data you want to export.
- You can choose to transfer all albums or specific ones.
- Choose iCloud Photos as destination:
- When prompted to choose a destination, select “iCloud Photos.”
- Start the transfer:
- Confirm the transfer. The process might take several hours to days, depending on the size of your photo library.
- Check the transfer status:
- You will receive notifications on the progress. Ensure your iCloud account has enough storage space for the transfer.
Important considerations
- Data retention: Photos and videos remain in Google Photos even after the transfer, ensuring no accidental loss of data.
- Storage space: Verify that your iCloud storage plan is sufficient to accommodate the transferred data.
- Transfer time: Large libraries might take longer to transfer, so plan accordingly.
Overall
This new tool simplifies the process of moving your precious memories from Google Photos to iCloud Photos, ensuring you can enjoy a seamless and integrated experience within the Apple ecosystem.
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