For years, users who wanted to switch between an Android device to an Apple device and vice versa faced a cumbersome process of downloading their data and then uploading it again to the new platform.
This often resulted in lost time, frustration, and even missing photos. To solve this, Apple and Google are introducing a new direct transfer tool, which makes it significantly easier for users to move their photo libraries between Google Photos and iCloud Photos.
This is coming three years after Apple let users transfer a copy of their iCloud photo collection to another service.
This new functionality builds upon the existing Data Transfer Initiative (DTI), a collaborative effort launched in 2018 by policy experts and technologists working with Industry experts- Apple, Google, and Meta (formerly Facebook) with the goal of simplifying data portability across online services.
DTI leverages open-source technology called the Data Transfer Project (DTP) to create standardized tools that allow users to seamlessly transfer their data between different platforms.
“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,” said Chris Riley, Executive Director, DTI via a blog post.
“The Data Transfer Project approach helps with this by aligning data models, authentication, and other necessary elements,” explained Riley. “DTP-powered tools are best-in-class offerings for direct portability. They help make data portability easier, and are built and tested to ensure a trustworthy and user-centric transfer, and offer an overall better experience for people.”
What it Means for Google Photos Users
Google Photos users can now initiate a direct transfer of their entire photo and video library to iCloud Photos through a familiar interface: Google Takeout.
Here’s what you should do as a Google Photos user:
Step 1: Initiate the Transfer via Google Takeout
- There are two ways to access Google Takeout:
- Go directly to the transfer Photos view of Google Takeout.
- Visit your Google Account Dashboard.
- Under “Recently used Google services” or “Other Google services”, scroll down to find “Photos”.
- Tap “Transfer data”.
Step 2: Select Photos for Transfer (Optional)
- Google Takeout offers the option to transfer all your photos and videos, or you can choose specific albums.
- If you only want to migrate certain albums, tap on “All photo albums included”.
- Deselect the albums you don’t want to transfer and then tap “OK”.
Step 3: Choose iCloud Photos as the Destination
- Scroll down and find the “Move to” section.
- Tap the down arrow to reveal a list of available destinations.
- Select “Apple – iCloud Photos”.
Step 4: Authorize the Transfer
- You’ll be prompted to sign in to your Google Account to authorize Takeout to access your photos.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to link your Apple account and authorize Google Takeout to transfer your data to iCloud Photos.
Step 5: Initiate the Transfer
- Once you’ve reviewed the details, tap “Agree and continue” to begin the transfer process.
Google will send a confirmation email once the transfer starts and another upon completion. You can expect the transfer to take anywhere from a few hours to several days, depending on the amount of data being transferred. Once complete, your photos and videos will appear in a dedicated album called “Import from Google” within the Photos app on your Apple devices. The album will also include the date of transfer.
What it means for Apple Users
While Apple doesn’t offer a direct transfer tool within the iCloud Photos app itself, you can initiate the transfer process through your Apple ID account settings.
Here’s what you should do as an Apple user:
Step 1: Access Your Apple ID Settings
- Open a web browser on your Apple device (iPhone, iPad, or Mac) and navigate to https://www.apple.com/privacy/.
- Sign in with your Apple ID credentials.
Step 2: Initiate Data Transfer
- Select “Transfer a copy of your data”.
Step 3: Choose Google Photos as Destination
- Apple will guide you through a series of prompts to choose the data you want to transfer and the destination service.
- Important: Look for the option to specify the destination service and select “Google Photos”.
Step 4: Link Your Google Account
- To authorize the transfer, you’ll be prompted to sign in to your Google Account.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to link your Google account and grant Apple permission to transfer your iCloud Photos data.
Step 5: Initiate Transfer
- After reviewing the details and confirming your selections, proceed with initiating the transfer.
One thing to note is that you have to have enough storage space available in your Google account to accommodate the incoming photos and videos. Google Photos also has a limit of 20,000 photos per album. If an album exceeds this limit, the excess photos will be transferred but won’t be added to the album.
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