Here's How to Transfer Photos and Videos from iCloud to Google Photos

If you are a typical person who likes to store lots of photos and videos in cloud services, be it iCloud, Google Photos or others, one of the things that makes us lazy is when we want to move from one cloud service to another. Downloading multiple files and then re-uploading them will take a lot of time, not to mention if the data plan you have is only limited.

To overcome this, Apple has now introduced a free feature that allows iCloud users to switch to the Google Photos service without having to download and re-upload. This feature is not only for iPhone users who want to migrate to Android, but also as a backup storage when you use an iPhone.

But before you can start to transfer from iCloud to Google Photos, you must first meet the requirements given by Apple.

In the list of requirements on Apple’s support page, first you have to make sure that the Apple ID used in iCloud has two-factor authentication enabled. Furthermore, you must also ensure that your Google account has sufficient storage to accommodate the transfer of the data.

How to transfer iCloud Photos to Google Photos

The best part about this transfer feature is that you don’t have to bother downloading all the photos and videos to upload them to Google Photos. Instead, Apple will process this transfer by associating an Apple ID with a Google account.

Click the drop-down menu and select Google Photos, then click on the two checkboxes that appear, one for photos, one for videos. Click Continue. Google Photos is the only option available at the moment, but it looks like this feature will be expanded by adding more services.

Apple will then show you how much data to transfer and remind you to check the available space in your Google account again. Because, if you don’t have enough space, the transfer will still happen but there will be files that fail to copy. Of course it will be very inconvenient because you have to crosscheck which files have not been copied.

If the space on your Google account seems sufficient, click on Continue then a pop-up window will ask you to sign in to your Google account and give Apple access to the Google Photos library. Follow the instructions. Once done, the transfer will begin.

According to Apple, the process will take three to seven days. When Apple has completed the transfer, you will receive an email notifying you that file processing has been completed.

Although this feature is considered very slow, it is by far the easiest and most trusted way to transfer iCloud photos to Google Photos. For those of you who may have started using Android, and left the iPhone this is the best feature that Apple provides.

As a reminder, Google will remove unlimited free storage starting June 1, 2021, but photos or videos that you have transferred before that date will still be safe from restrictions.

Also read: How to Backup and Restore Windows 10 Easily and Safely

Google Photos itself is currently used by more than 1 billion people as a storage for high-quality photos. More than 4 trillion images are stored on Google Photos of which 28 billion are uploaded every week.