Google Photos will soon seamlessly transfer to Apple’s iCloud

Google and Apple are launching a new tool to transfer images from Google Photos to iCloud. As part of the Data Transfer Initiative (DTI), the tool will add iCloud transfers to Google Takeout’s export options. 9to5Mac first spotted the announcement.

The tool, which will roll out over the next week, automates the transfer process from Google Photos to iCloud, so you don’t have to download, upload or do anything beyond initiating the process on the web. An Apple support page says it could take several hours to a few days to complete, depending on the transfer size.

Transferring your pictures from Google to iCloud won’t delete them from Google Photos, so you’ll have to do that manually if you want. In addition, the service won’t work for child accounts, Managed Apple ID accounts (those set up through IT admins) or iCloud accounts with Advanced Data Protection turned on.

The tool follows the 2021 launch of one that does the inverse: moving your images from iCloud to Google Photos.

The DTI launched in 2023 as a collaboration between Apple, Google and Meta. Officially, it was formed to further the goals of the open-source Data Transfer Project (DTP), which began five years earlier. Unofficially, well, it’s probably not a coincidence the DTI commenced a couple of months before the European Commission named its “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act, and the DTI’s goals happen to align with the governing body’s regulations. (Fancy that!)

Once it’s live (we aren’t seeing it available just yet), you can begin the process in Google Takeout. In the meantime, you can read Google and Apple’s instructions for all the fine print.