How to Transfer Google Photos to iCloud (2 Ways)

Which route should you use?

For a library of mostly regular photos where one big album is fine, the direct transfer is the sensible choice. If you shoot Live Photos on an iPhone, care about your albums, or want a copy of your library on your own drive as well, take the Takeout route.

Option 1: Transfer Google Photos to iCloud directly

Google and Apple run a direct copy between the two services. According to Apple's support page, it works like this:

1. On your iPhone, iPad or Mac, turn on iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive, and make sure you have enough iCloud storage for your whole library.
2. Go to takeout.google.com and start an export of Google Photos.
3. Choose Apple iCloud Photos as the destination and sign in to your Apple Account.
4. Allow Google to add photos and videos to iCloud Photos.
5. Wait. Apple emails you when the transfer starts and when it finishes, and you can check its progress at privacy.apple.com.

What the direct transfer leaves behind

• Live Photos, Motion Photos and Memories. Apple lists these as file types that aren't transferred.
• Your album structure. Transferred items appear in a single album named “Import from Google”.
• RAW and other unsupported formats. They go to an “Import from Google” folder in iCloud Drive instead of your Photos library.
• Some accounts entirely. It isn't available with Advanced Data Protection turned on, or for child accounts and Managed Apple Accounts.

Two practical notes: turning off iCloud Photos part-way stops the transfer, and if you run out of storage you can free up space and request the transfer again. Apple says repeat requests don't create duplicates. Your Google Photos library is copied, never deleted.

Option 2: Takeout, fix the metadata, then import to Apple Photos

This route keeps the things the direct transfer drops, and leaves you with a complete copy of your library on your own drive.

1. Export your library with Google Takeout. Select only Google Photos and download every zip file when Google emails you. Our Takeout export guide walks through the settings, and the reliable download guide helps if large downloads keep failing.
2. Restore dates, locations and Live Photo pairs. Takeout stores each photo's date and GPS in a separate JSON file, often in a different zip from the photo. Apple Photos ignores those files, so un-fixed photos show the download date. Run all the zips through Metadata Fixer (or a free tool, see our tool comparison) so the metadata is written into each file and HEIC + MOV Live Photo parts are paired.
3. Import into Apple Photos with iCloud Photos turned on. On a Mac, open Photos and use File > Import rather than dragging files in. To keep albums, import one album folder at a time and add the imported items to a new album. On Windows, add the fixed files through iCloud for Windows.
4. Check before you delete anything from Google. Compare item counts, open a few old photos to confirm the dates and map locations, and keep the fixed files on an external drive as a backup.

How much iCloud storage do you need?

At least as much as your Google Photos library uses, plus whatever is already in iCloud. Check your Google usage at one.google.com/storage and your iCloud plan in Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Upgrade iCloud before you start, because both routes stop or fail when iCloud fills up. Note that a Takeout export is often larger than the library Google reports because of album copies and JSON files; once processed, the files you import are close to the original size.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I transfer Google Photos directly to iCloud?

Yes. In Google Takeout you can choose Apple iCloud Photos as the destination, sign in to your Apple Account and approve the transfer. Apple says it takes from several hours to a few days. Motion Photos, Live Photos and Memories are not transferred, and file types Photos cannot accept, such as RAW, go to an "Import from Google" folder in iCloud Drive.

Does transferring Google Photos to iCloud keep Live Photos?

Not with the direct transfer. Apple's support page says Motion Photos and Live Photos are not transferred. To keep them, export your library with Google Takeout, use a tool that pairs each HEIC image with its MOV video and restores the dates, then import the files into Apple Photos.

Will my albums transfer from Google Photos to iCloud?

With the direct transfer, everything lands in a single album called "Import from Google". If you want your Google albums back as separate albums in Apple Photos, export with Takeout, where each album is a folder, and import the folders one at a time.

Why do my photos have the wrong date after moving from Google Photos to Apple Photos?

Google Takeout keeps each photo's original date and location in a separate JSON file. Apple Photos reads the date stored inside the photo itself, so un-fixed Takeout files show the day you downloaded them. Write the JSON metadata back into the files before importing.

Does the Google Photos to iCloud transfer delete my photos from Google?

No. The transfer copies your photos and videos. Your Google Photos library stays as it is until you delete it yourself.