How to move photos from one google account to another

Without having to manually download and upload photos

What to Know

• Desktop: Sharing on Google Photos account > Get started > choose photos > Send invitation > accept on other account.
• Mobile: Sharing > Create shared album > Select photos > Share > connect account > Send.
• Via Google Takeout: Google Photos > Next step > Create export > Download > extract file > upload to other account.

This article will show you multiple ways to move photos from one Google Photos account to another without having to send each one separately.

Is There a Way to Transfer Google Photos to Another Account?

While you can always manually download photos from a Google Photos account and then upload to another, it can really take a long time. Fortunately, Google has tools which make transferring photos fast and easy to do.

How to Transfer on Google Photos for Desktop

With the Sharing feature on Google Photos, you can link a second account to the first and transfer photos between the two.

1. On your Google Photos account, click Sharing.

2. If this is your first time using the Sharing feature, click Get started. If you already have an account and so you don't see that prompt, open Settings and select Partner sharing.

3. Click Get started again.

4. In the search bar, type in the name of your other account.

5. Click the name to add it to the partner list, then tap Next.

6. Choose the photos you want to share or select All photos, then tap Next.
   

7. Click Send invitation to give your other account access to the photos.

8. Go to your other account and you will see a New Activity notification in the Sharing tab.

9. Click the notification and accept the invitation. Now the photos from the first account can be seen in the second.

How to Transfer on Google Photos for Mobile Devices

The Sharing tool is also available on the mobile app, and it's even faster to do. When transfering a few photos or an album, this method is highly recommended.

1. Open your Google Photos app and click on Sharing.

2. Tap Create shared album at the top.

3. Write in the title of the photos you want to transfer to the other account, then tap Select photos.

4. Select the photos you want to share then tap Add in the upper right hand corner.

5. Then tap Share.

6. Select the other account with which you are sharing the photos.

7. Click Send at the bottom to send the invitation to your other account in order to gain access and transfer photos.

How to Transfer Photos via Google Takeout

Google Takeout is a Google service which allows users to export their account data into a downloadable archive file. It's a great way to move your entire Google Photos library in a single move.

1. Go to the Google Takeout website, scroll down and click the box next to Google Photos.

2. If you want to see what will be exported, click All photo albums included.

3. In that same window, uncheck the items you want to exclude from the export and then click OK.

4. Scroll to the bottom and select Next step.

5. You can select how frequent you want the export to happen and the file size. This guide will choose to download 10GB for a one time export.
   

6. Once you've decided which type of file you want, select Create export.

7. Google will then create the copy of your Google Photos account, but it may take a long time depending on how much there is in the account.

   For this article's example, it took the Takeout service about 30 minutes to finish.

8. Once done, click the Download button to download the ZIP file. At this point, you can walk away if the download is going to take a while. You'll receive an email once the download is complete.

   Tip

   If your system doesn't automatically open ZIP files, you may need to download an app like WinRAR so you can extract the ZIP file.

9. Select whichever app you have that opens ZIP files and click OK.
   

10. After downloading, highlight the Zip file and click Extract to (your app may look different, but it's likely using similar function names).

11. Select a location where to place your Takeout folder, then click OK.

12. Go to the Google Photos account that will receive the photos.

13. Drag and drop the folder you downloaded from Takeout to the new account.

14. Select your upload size then click Continue.

15. The pictures and videos uploaded will appear in the new account.

FAQ

• How do I transfer photos from Google Photos to my gallery?

  To get items directly into your phone's photos app (whether the gallery in Android or Photos in iOS), download the Google Photos app to your phone. Then, open the photo you want to transfer in the app and select the More menu (three vertical dots). From there, choose Save to device.

• How do I transfer Google Photos to a computer?

  To download Google Photos to a desktop computer, you can do the same thing as if you were moving them from a phone: Go to Google Photos and for individual images, choose Download from the menu. For an entire album, choose Download all.

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