On Dec. 2 (Monday), Facebook introduced a new tool in their platform that allows users to transfer images straight to Google Photos. The update was already rolled out in Ireland, but users from the rest of the world will still have to wait until early 2020 to enjoy this feature.
'Direct Transfers for Data Portability'
Have you ever wanted to take your embarrassing high school photos off your Facebook account but could not actually delete them because they hold some sentimental value? Well, you are not alone. Luckily, though, you can now seamlessly and quickly transfer them to another platform where they can gather dust and hide forever.
"The goal of this project has been to make it easier for services of any size to securely make direct transfers for data portability from one service to another and to make the process simpler for the people who use these services," Facebook said in a post.
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Before the transfer tool was introduced, users had to download their Facebook information and manually upload them to Google Photos. With the update rolled out, all it takes is a few clicks to complete the process.
How to Transfer Facebook Photos to Google Photos
It's quite easy.
1. Go to Settings.
2. Choose "Your Facebook Information."
3. Select "Download Your Information."
4. You'll see an option to upload your photos and videos to Google Photos.
More About the Data Transfer Project
In a press release posted by Facebook in July 2018, the social media platform announced its participation in the Data Transfer Project, a collaboration between tech giants Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter. The goal, according to the post, was to "build a common way for people to transfer data into and out of online services."
"Moving your data between any two services can be complicated because every service is built differently and uses different types of data that may require unique privacy controls and settings," the company said in the PR.
"For example, you might use an app where you share photos publicly, a social networking app where you share updates with friends and a fitness app for tracking your workouts. People increasingly want to be able to move their data among different kinds of services like these, but they expect that the companies that help them do that will also protect their data."
Is It Free?
The process of actually transferring your data to another platform is free, but as with all things convenient, this does not come without limitations. For example, creating an account for Google Photos is free. However, you need to subscribe to enjoy more storage space and upload higher quality of photos. You can sign up for the 200GB plan for $2.80 a month, 2TB for $9.99, and 30TB for $299.
