How to copy your Apple photos to Google Photos

Apple has quietly rolled out a tool that lets you copy all the pictures you have stored in Apple Photos to Google Photos.

You might find this useful for several reasons. It’s an easy way to move everything if you are upgrading to an Android phone because you can’t upload to Apple Photos from an Android phone. Like Apple Photos, Google Photos will automatically create highlight video clips set to music, but it will also automatically create collages, animations, add filters (which often look really good) and more. Both services have their strengths and I use both to create a backup of the other.

It’s also useful if you want to switch from iCloud storage to Google One storage. Apple charges $ 0.99 / month for 50GB, $ 2.99 / month for 200GB, or $ 9.99 / month for 2TB of storage. Google’s plans are the same price, but let you share 100GB with your family for $ 1.99 per month, while Apple only offers family sharing on its 200GB and 2TB plans. Additionally, Google offers a 10TB $ 49.99 / month plan in case you have a parcel data and just want to keep everything there.

A word of warning: the transfer is not immediate. He said my 117GB library of over 20,000 photos and over 800 videos would take between three and seven days to move.

I’ll show you how to copy them now.

• First, go to Apple’s privacy website (privacy.apple.com/account) on your computer.
• Sign in with your Apple account.
• Choose “Request the transfer of a copy of your data”.
• You’ll see a summary of how many photos and videos are stored in iCloud Photos and how much storage they’re currently using.
• Under “Choose where you want to upload your photos”, select “Google Photos”. This is the only option at the moment.
• Check the boxes to transfer videos and photos.
• Tap Continue.
• Confirm that you know that your photos and videos will not be fully transferred if your Google One drive is low on space by tapping “Continue” again.
• Sign in with your Google account and grant Apple access to your Google Photos library.
• Choose “Confirm transfers”.

That’s all. You should see the images appear in your Google Account after the transfer is complete, after which you will also receive a confirmation email. Just be patient – it may take several days depending on the size of your library.