Seamless Integration: Moving Your Google Photos Library to iCloud

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What to Know

• First, you need to export your Google Photos files. There’s no way to copy Google Photos to iCloud directly.
• Google Takeout is the best way to download everything at once. You can also save individual items only.
• To move Google Photos to iCloud, visitiCloud.com/photos and upload the photos and videos you saved.

This article explains how to export your photos from Google Photos and then import them directly into iCloud.

Is There a Way to Transfer Google Photos to iCloud?

The short answer is yes, but not directly. There’s no simple transfer button to magically move everything over to iCloud from Google Photos. Your only option is to download the files you want to import to iCloud and then upload them to your account. Below are all the directions you need to get this done.

How to Download From Google Photos

Currently, the only way to move your Google Photos over is to download them to your computer and then upload them to iCloud. There are three ways to do this, depending on how many items you want to copy over.

Download Everything at Once

Google Takeout is a free tool from Google built specifically for this purpose. Here’s how to download all your Google Photos data to prepare for the transfer:

1. Open the Google Takeout website and log in with your Google account if asked.
2. To export just your photos and videos, clickDeselect all .
   
3. Scroll down and checkGoogle Photos .

Click here

SelectAll photo albums included to change what Google Takeout should download. Saving everything from your account could take a while and might be excessive if you really just want to transfer specific albums to iCloud.

4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and chooseNext step .
5. Make sureSend download link via email is selected from the menu, then chooseExport once ,.zip , and2 GB for the other options.
6. ClickCreate export to initiate the download process.
   
7. You’ll get an email from Google Takeout when the files are ready to save to your computer. When the download is ready, save the ZIP file to your computer by pressingDownload , and then unzip its contents to see all your downloaded photos and videos.

Click here

Export Specific Photos and Videos Only

Don’t want to transfer_all_ your Google Photos data? We mentioned how to export certain albums above, but you can also download each item you want to put in iCloud. Here’s how it works from the Google Photos website:

1. Open Google Photos in your web browser.
2. Find the photos you want to export and select them using the small checkmark in the top corner of the images. Alternatively, you can mark all for export by selecting the top left-most photo and holding Shift while you scroll to the bottom of the page.
   
3. PressShift +d on your keyboard. Or, go to thethree-dot menu and chooseDownload .

Export From Your Phone

To grab certain photos from the app on your phone, follow these steps:

1. Long-press the first item you want to save, then tap any other photos or videos you plan to transfer to iCloud.
2. Tap theShare button.
3. Select an app to send the photos through, like your email or a messaging service you can access on a computer.
   

What Is the Best Way to Move My Google Photos Into iCloud?

With your Google Photos exported, you can now import them into iCloud. The easiest way to import photos into iCloud is through the iCloud website. Here’s how:

1. Open iCloud Photos and log in with your Apple ID.
2. From theLibrary tab, select thecloud icon on the right.
   
3. Find the folder you exported your Google Photos items to and then choose what to import into iCloud.
   
   You might have to do some consolidation to make all your Google Photos files exist in the same folder for easy upload.

FAQ

• How do I transfer Google Photos to my gallery?
  You can restore items from Google Photos to an Android phone’s gallery app throughLibrary >Trash in Google Photos. Select the photos you’re moving, and then selectRestore . The item will return to the folders it used to be in, including your gallery.
• How do I transfer Google Photos to my computer?
  You can move Google Photos to your computer’s hard drive by downloading them from the website. Sign in to Google Photos, and then hover your cursor over the ones you want to move and select thecheckbox . Once you’ve highlighted all of the items you want, clickmenu >Download .

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