Apple has launched a new service that lets users transfer the photos and videos in iCloud Photos to Google Photos with ease.
This is great news for iPhone users who wish to switch to android, or iCloud users wishing to transfer/back up their photos or videos.
The requirements list on the Apple support page notes that in addition to using iCloud Photos to store your pictures and videos, your Apple ID will need to have two-factor authentication turned on. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure your Google account has enough storage to handle the transfer.
iCloud users must request the transfer, which will send a copy of the content in the cloud to Google Photos. The photos and videos must be associated with the user’s Apple ID.
Smart Albums, Live Photos, photo stream content, some metadata, and some RAW photos are not able to be transferred, but formats including .jpg, .png, .webp, .gif, some RAW files, .mpg, .mod, .mmv, .tod, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .divx, .mov, .m4v, .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .m2t, .m2ts, .mts, and .mkv are compatible.
Only the most recent edit of a photo is transferred rather than the original version, and duplicates appear as just one photo. Images are transferred in their albums whenever possible, but videos are transferred separately.
Transferring photos and videos from iCloud Photos does not remove the content you have stored with Apple, but it provides a backup method and stores a copy of the content on Google Photos, so you shouldn’t have to worry about losing any content.
To start the transfer, you’ll need to visit privacy.apple.com and sign in to the Apple ID linked to your iCloud Photos account. Next, click on Request to transfer a copy of your data under the Transfer a copy of your data section.
Click the drop-down menu and pick Google Photos, and then click the two checkboxes that are displayed, one for photos, another for videos. Click Continue.
You will be shown how much storage your photo library will use, and remind you to check your Google account and make sure you have enough space. If you don’t have enough space, the transfer will stop and not everything will be copied over. Click Continue after you’ve checked your Google account’s storage amount.
A pop-up window will ask you to sign in to your Google account and grant Apple access to your Google Photos library. Follow the prompts.When you’re done, the transfer will begin.
The transfer takes between three to seven days while Apple verifies that the request was made by the user, and then completes the transfer (which is not so 21st ‘centurish’). When the transfer has been completed, you’ll receive an email letting you know it’s done.
This new transfer service is currently available in Australia, Canada, the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States only at this time.
