Sources checked Sep 21, 2026 – Sep 22, 2026
Move your photos between Google Photos and iCloud Photos without losing the originals.
Both directions have an official route that copies your library from one service to the other without downloading it first. Google Photos to iCloud Photos starts in Google Takeout; iCloud Photos to Google Photos starts on Apple’s Data and Privacy page. Neither deletes anything from the service you are leaving, so check the copy before you cancel a plan.
START WITH THE SETUP
Check these first, whichever way you move
- 01
Make room at the destination. Apple’s instructions for both directions ask you to check storage first. Photos copied to Google count toward your Google account’s total storage. Work out the size with our storage check guide.
- 02
Check Advanced Data Protection. Apple says you cannot import photos to iCloud or export them from iCloud while Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is turned on.
- 03
Check the account type. Apple says neither transfer is available for child accounts or Managed Apple Accounts.
- 04
Let uploads finish. For iCloud to Google, Apple says photos still uploading, or anything you add, change, or delete after the transfer starts, might not be included.
GOOGLE PHOTOS → ICLOUD PHOTOS
Start the copy in Google Takeout
- 1
In iCloud, turn on iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive, and check that you have enough iCloud storage for the library you are copying.
- 2
Go to Google Takeout and follow the instructions to start an export from Google Photos.
- 3
Choose “Apple - iCloud Photos” as the destination and sign in to your Apple Account.
- 4
Tap Allow to give Google permission to add photos and videos to iCloud.
- 5
Wait for Apple’s confirmation email. You can check the status of the transfer, or cancel it, on Apple’s Data and Privacy page.
Apple says this can take from several hours to a few days. The photos appear in an album called “Import from Google” with the transfer date. Files iCloud Photos cannot hold, including RAW files, go to an “Import from Google” folder in iCloud Drive. If you run out of iCloud storage, add space and request another transfer; Apple says a repeat request will not add duplicates.
ICLOUD PHOTOS → GOOGLE PHOTOS
Start the copy from Apple’s Data and Privacy page
- 1
Check that your Apple Account uses two-factor authentication and that your Google account has enough storage for the library.
- 2
Sign in to your Apple Account at Apple’s Data and Privacy page.
- 3
Select Transfer a copy of your data and follow the prompts.
- 4
Sign in to your Google account when asked, to start the transfer.
- 5
Wait for Apple’s completion email. Apple says the transfer takes three to seven days.
Apple uses the waiting time to verify that you made the request. If you cancel partway through, the photos already copied stay in Google Photos. Transferring does not remove or change what you store with Apple.
WHAT ARRIVES
Four things that do not come across as you might expect
From Apple’s transfer pages. Check these in the copy before you remove anything from the original service.
- Live Photos, Motion Photos, and Memories
- Going to iCloud, only photo and video files transfer; Motion Photos, Live Photos, and Memories do not. Going to Google, Live Photos, shared albums, smart albums, and photo stream content are not transferred.
- Edited photos (iCloud to Google)
- Only the most recent edit is transferred, not the original version, and duplicates arrive as one photo.
- Albums (iCloud to Google)
- Photos keep their albums where possible; videos arrive without albums. Album and video file names start with “Copy of”. Google Photos holds up to 20,000 photos per album; extra photos still arrive but outside the album.
- Resolution (Google to iCloud)
- Photos and videos arrive at the resolution Google makes available for export, with file name, description, file type, and location.
Keep your own copy of a Google Photos library
If you want a copy you control as well as the transfer, Google Takeout can also create a download. Choose Google Photos, pick “Send download link via email” or another destination, choose a one-time archive, and pick Zip or Tgz and a maximum archive size. Google says this can take from a few minutes to a few days, most people get the link the same day, each archive expires in about 7 days, and it can be downloaded up to 5 times. Downloading does not delete anything from Google.
Apple’s transfer page does not describe a download route for iCloud Photos, so we do not cover one here.
A GOOD REASON TO WAIT
Do not cancel or downgrade the old plan if
- You have not had the completion email from Apple, or the destination ran out of space during the transfer.
- Photos you care about are Live Photos, in shared albums, or edited, and you have not checked how they arrived.
- The destination total does not roughly match the library you copied. A matching count is not proof that every item arrived, but a big gap means something did not.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Size the plan you are moving to.
Enter the size of your library and the people who will share the new plan. The calculator shows the smallest iCloud+, Google One, Microsoft 365, and Dropbox plan that holds it, so you can make room before you start the transfer.