There’s finally an easy way to move from Google Photos to iCloud

Google and Apple are teamng up to launching a new tool to enable an easier transfer of Google Photos content to iCloud Photos.

The new online tool will arrive in the next week and comes after a similar tool that enabled photos to go in the opposite direction a few years back. Considering that arrived over three years ago, it’s about time there was a reciprocal tool available.

A blog post at the Data Transfer Initiative (via 9to5Mac), which is an open-source platform Apple and Google are both working with explains how the “direct data transfer” from Google Photos to iCloud will work.

“Beginning today, Apple and Google are expanding on their direct data transfer offerings to allow users of Google Photos to transfer their collections directly to iCloud Photos,” the post reads.

“This complements and completes the existing transfers that were first made possible from iCloud Photos to Google Photos and fulfills a core Data Transfer Initiative (DTI) principle of reciprocity.”

Apple has published a guide to the process within a support document. It ensures users they won’t worry about their photos being deleted from Google Photos once the process has been completed. It doesn’t require users to download anything either, as “the transfer happens directly from Google to iCloud.”

Naturally, the whole process could take a few hours or a few days depending on the size of the library. It will be necessary to have iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive switched on, and you will need a large enough iCloud plan to accommodate everything you’re transferring.