Apple now makes it easier to switch from Google Photos to iCloud Photos

Apple and Google have teamed up to introduce a new data portability tool that lets users transfer their Google Photos collections straight to iCloud Photos. This follows the launch of a tool that lets you transfer iCloud Photos to Google Photos back in 2021.

Apple and Google’s work is part of the Data Transfer Project, which is an open-source initiative focused on data portability between different online platforms. In a blog post announcing today’s news, the Data Transfer Initiative explained that support for transferring photos and videos from Google Photos to iCloud Photos will roll out over the next week:

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.

Apple and Google have both published support articles that detail the process of transferring collections from Google Photos to iCloud Photos. Apple says that the service will be available in over 240 countries and regions around the world. The service isn’t available for child accounts or Managed Apple ID accounts. You also can’t import photo and video data to iCloud while Advanced Data Protection is enabled.

Apple says:

• When you transfer photos and videos to iCloud Photos, they aren’t deleted from Google Photos.
• You don’t need to download your photos or videos to transfer them. The transfer happens directly from Google to iCloud.
• The transfer process might take between several hours and a few days, depending on the size of the photos and videos being transferred.

To transfer your photos and videos from Google Photos to iCloud Photos:

1. Go to Google Takeout
2. Follow the instructions to start an export from Google Photos.
3. Choose “Apple – iCloud Photos” as the destination to transfer and sign in with your Apple ID.
4. Tap Allow to share permission with Google to add photos and videos to iCloud.

You can learn more on Apple’s website and Google’s website, both of which have more details on how the process works and what happens when your transfer is complete.

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