Apple has launched a new tool that allows users to transfer copies of their photos from iCloud to another service, with Google Photos being the first integration.
As the company described in a new support document, there is a new option “Transfer a copy of your data” on Apple’s privacy website that can be used to transfer media content from iCloud to Google Photos.
The process does not delete any content from iCloud, but transfers a copy of the user’s photos and videos to Google Photos. This can make the tool useful for both service transfer and backup purposes.
However, only the most recent edition of a photo is transferred and the duplicates appear as a single piece of content. Smart albums, Live Photos, photo stream content and some other types of formats are not supported at this time. Videos are transferred separately, while photos are likely to be transferred together in their own albums.
Users will need two-factor authentication blocking their Apple ID and a Google Photos account with sufficient storage space for their iCloud content. The transfer takes between three and seven days.
The service is available in Australia, Canada, the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA at launch. The service can be accessed online on Apple’s privacy page.