Switching Google accounts can be a necessary step for various reasons, whether it’s for personal organization, changing jobs, or managing different aspects of your digital life. If you’re a Google Photos user, one of your primary concerns might be how to transfer your precious memories when you move from one Google account to another. While it might seem straightforward, migrating Google Photos isn’t as simple as a direct, automated transfer. This guide will walk you through the most effective methods to move your Google Photos from one account to another, ensuring you don’t lose any of your cherished photos and videos.
Why Automated Google Photos Transfer is Limited
You might wonder if there’s a simple, one-click solution to automatically transfer all your Google Photos. Unfortunately, due to the way Google Photos is structured and how its APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) function, fully automated transfers are currently not widely available or reliable, especially for large libraries.
Although Google Photos shares storage with Google Drive within a Google account, they have been distinct services since 2019. This separation means that simply migrating your Google Drive content doesn’t include your Google Photos. Furthermore, while Google provides APIs for Google Photos, these APIs come with limitations, particularly on the number of operations that can be performed within a given timeframe. These limitations are in place to manage server load and prevent abuse.
For automated migration tools, these API restrictions pose a significant challenge. The process can become extremely slow, unreliable, and prone to stalling, especially when dealing with large photo libraries or multiple users transferring data simultaneously. This is why many migration services, including those specializing in Google Workspace migrations, often exclude Google Photos from their automated transfer offerings.
Therefore, manual methods remain the most dependable way to transfer your Google Photos to another account. Let’s explore the two primary methods: transferring via partner sharing and transferring by downloading and re-uploading.
Method 1: Transfer Google Photos via Partner Sharing
The first method involves utilizing Google Photos’ “Partner Sharing” feature. This approach allows you to share your entire photo library from your source account to your destination account and then save those shared photos to the destination account. Crucially, this method preserves the metadata of your photos, such as dates and camera information. However, it’s important to note that albums are not directly copied through partner sharing and require a separate, additional step.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to transfer Google Photos using Partner Sharing:
Step 1: Check Storage in Your Destination Account
Before initiating the transfer, ensure your destination Google account has sufficient storage space. Initially, photos copied via partner sharing won’t immediately count against your destination account’s storage quota. However, once you delete the original photos from your source account, or if the source account becomes inactive, the copied photos will begin to use storage in your destination account.
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Check Source Account Storage: In your source account, navigate to the Google Storage page to see how much storage Google Photos is using.
Alt Text: Checking Google Photos storage usage on the Google One storage management page.
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Verify Destination Account Storage: Ensure your destination account has at least the same amount of free storage available. Remember that Google Photos storage is shared with Gmail and Google Drive. If you lack sufficient space, consider purchasing additional storage or transferring only a selection of photos.
Step 2: Enable Partner Sharing from Your Source Account
Next, you need to set up partner sharing in your source Google Photos account to share your library with your destination account.
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Access Partner Sharing Settings: In your source account, go to Google Photos > Settings > Partner Sharing.
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Select “All photos”: Choose to share “All photos” to ensure your entire library is included in the transfer, then click “Next.”
Alt Text: Partner sharing settings in Google Photos, highlighting the option to share all photos.
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Enter Destination Account Email: Add the email address associated with your destination Google account.
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Send Invitation: Send the partner sharing invitation.
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Accept Invitation in Destination Account: Open the email invitation in your destination account and click to accept.
Alt Text: Email invitation to partner sharing in Google Photos, showing the “Accept Invitation” button.
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Decline Sharing Back: When prompted in Google Photos to share photos back to your source account, select “Not now” as this is not necessary for the transfer.
Step 3: Save Shared Photos to Your Destination Account
Now, in your destination account, you need to save the photos that have been shared with you.
- Go to Sharing: In your destination account, navigate to Google Photos and click “Sharing” in the left-hand menu.
- Select Source Account: Click on the name of your source account under the “Partner Sharing” section. This will display all the photos shared from your source account.
- Access Partner Sharing Settings: In the top-right corner, click the three-dot menu and select “Settings.”
- Save to Account: Scroll down to “Partner sharing” and click “Save to your account.”
- Save All Photos: Choose “Save all photos.” This will copy all photos, including those in albums (though albums themselves are not copied directly at this stage), to your destination Google Photos account.
Step 4: Re-create Albums in Your Destination Account (Optional)
If you want to preserve your album organization, this step is necessary as partner sharing does not automatically copy albums. This process involves manually recreating each album in your destination account and adding the corresponding photos. Note that the photos themselves are not duplicated again; this step only reorganizes the already copied photos into albums.
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Open Source Account Album: In one browser tab, open an album in your source Google Photos account.
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Share Album (Create Link): In the top-right corner of the album, click the “Share” icon and select “Create link.”
Alt Text: Sharing options for a Google Photos album, with the “Create link” option highlighted.
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Copy and Paste Link: Copy the generated link and paste it into a new browser tab where you are logged into your destination account.
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Select All Photos: In the opened album in your destination account, select all photos. You can use Shift-click to select multiple photos at once.
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Add to Album (Create New Album): Click the “+” icon in the top right corner, select “Album,” and then “New album.” Name the new album to match the album name from your source account. The selected photos will be added to this newly created album in your destination account.
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Repeat for All Albums: Repeat this process for each album you wish to transfer from your source account.
After completing these steps for all desired albums, your photos in the destination account will be organized into albums mirroring your source account’s structure.
Important Considerations for Partner Sharing:
- Deleting photos from the source account after transferring via partner sharing will not remove them from the destination account. However, the copies in the destination account will then start counting against its storage quota.
- Exceeding your storage quota in either account can impact your ability to send/receive emails and upload new files across Google services.
Method 2: Copy Google Photos by Downloading and Re-uploading
The second method involves downloading your photos from your source account and then re-uploading them to your destination account. This method is simpler in process but comes with a significant drawback: it does not preserve photo metadata (dates, camera details, descriptions, etc.) and album organization is lost.
Here’s how to transfer Google Photos by downloading and re-uploading:
Step 1: Download Your Google Photos Content
You can download your photos either manually or using Google Takeout. For a small number of photos, manual selection and download might be feasible. However, for large libraries, Google Takeout is the recommended approach as it allows you to download your entire Google Photos library in bulk.
- Using Google Takeout: Go to Google Takeout. Select “Google Photos” and follow the prompts to export and download your photos. You can choose to download all albums or specific albums.
Step 2: Upload Your Google Photos to the Destination Account
Once you have downloaded your photos, you can upload them to your destination Google Photos account.
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Create Album (Optional): In your destination account, go to Google Photos and create a new album by clicking “Create album” in the top-right corner if you wish to organize your uploaded photos into albums.
Alt Text: “Add photos” button within a Google Photos album, used for uploading photos.
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Upload Photos: Click the “Upload” button in the top-right corner of Google Photos.
Alt Text: “Upload” button in the Google Photos interface, enabling users to upload photos from their computer.
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Select and Open Files: Select the photos you downloaded in Step 1 and click “Open.” You can select multiple photos at once.
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Wait for Upload: Allow time for all photos to upload to your destination account.
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Repeat for Albums (Optional): If you downloaded albums separately via Google Takeout, repeat the upload process for each album if you want to organize them in your destination account (though album structure itself won’t be preserved from the download).
Important Considerations for Download and Re-upload:
- Ensure you have enough free space on your local hard drive to download all your Google Photos content before starting.
- This method will result in the loss of photo metadata and album organization. Photos will be uploaded with the date of upload, not their original dates.
Transferring Google Drive Files to Another Account
If you are also looking to move your Google Drive files, the process is generally more straightforward. While manual copying is possible, automated migration tools like VaultMe can significantly simplify and expedite the process of transferring Google Drive files, along with other Google Workspace data like Gmail, Contacts, and Calendars. These tools can transfer owned and shared documents, retaining folder structure and file formatting.
Transfer Google Photos to iCloud
For users transitioning to the Apple ecosystem, transferring Google Photos to iCloud is also possible using Google Takeout. Google Takeout offers a direct transfer option to iCloud Photos, streamlining the process. However, it’s important to be aware that metadata transfer might not be fully comprehensive, and the accuracy of the transfer is not always guaranteed.
Steps to Transfer Google Photos to iCloud using Google Takeout:
- Enable iCloud Photos and Drive: Ensure iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive are enabled on your Apple device.
- Check iCloud Storage: Verify you have enough storage in your iCloud account to accommodate your Google Photos library.
- Go to Google Takeout: Navigate to Google Takeout.
- Select Google Photos: Include Google Photos in your export selection.
- Choose iCloud Photos Destination: Select “Apple – iCloud Photos” as the destination and sign in with your Apple ID.
- Grant Permissions: Grant Google the necessary permissions to add photos and videos to your iCloud account.
- Wait for Transfer: Allow sufficient time for the transfer process to complete.
It is advisable to review Apple’s official guide on this process before initiating the transfer: Transfer a copy of your photos and videos to iCloud Photos. Consider the potential limitations of this method before proceeding.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I back up Google Photos to a different account?
You can use partner sharing as a backup solution. Set up partner sharing to continuously share all photos from your primary account to a backup account. Then, save the shared photos to the backup account. This ensures that even if your primary account is compromised, your photos are safely backed up in another account.
Can I transfer all my Google Photos to a different account?
Yes, you can transfer all your Google Photos using either the partner sharing method or the download and re-upload method described above. Partner sharing is recommended for preserving metadata and is suitable for most users, while download/re-upload is simpler but sacrifices metadata.
How do I download all photos from Google Photos?
Google Takeout is the most efficient way to download all your photos from Google Photos. It allows you to export your entire library or selected albums. Be sure to review the limitations of Google Takeout, such as potential delays for large exports, before initiating the process.
Conclusion
Moving Google Photos from one account to another, while not fully automated, is certainly manageable using the methods outlined in this guide. Choosing between partner sharing and download/re-upload depends on your priorities: partner sharing preserves metadata and album structure with extra steps for albums, while download/re-upload is simpler but loses metadata.
By carefully following the step-by-step instructions, you can successfully migrate your Google Photos and ensure your visual memories are safely transferred to your new Google account. Remember to consider your storage needs and choose the method that best aligns with your technical comfort and desired outcome.
