How to Transfer all files from Google Photos to another platform

In this guide, we will show you the steps to transfer all your photos and video files from Google Photos to another platform of your choice. There’s no denying the fact that this file storage and synchronization service from the Silicon Valley giant is among the best in this domain, with its generous 15GB of free storage space being one of its major USPs.

  • How to Transfer all files from Google Photos to another platform
  • FAQ 1: How to Run GPTH Tool on Mac & Linux
  • FAQ 2: Any Caveats with this Process?

How to Transfer all files from Google Photos to another platform

Transfer all files from Google Photos - 1

Usually, the easiest and most preferred choice to extract all your data from a particular Google service is via its Takeout feature. However, things get a tad bit complicated when it comes to Google Photos. Instead of simply giving us our photos and videos. it tends to create hundreds of folders with various JSON files within it, and that too in a non-chronological order. So what else could be done?

Well, you could take the help of a handy open-source app named GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper. “It will take all of those folders, find all photos in them, set their “last modified”correctly, and put it in one big folder (or folders divided by a month)”. While the initial setup process might seem a little bit daunting, but the end result might well be worth appreciable. So on that note, let’s get started.

  1. Head over to Google Takeout and click on Deselect All.
  2. Then only checkmark Google Photos and click on Next.
  3. Now select the frequency as needed and click Create Export.
  4. Then unzip all the Takeout folders and merge them into one. Credits: GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper [GitHub]
  5. Now download the latest GPTH Tool for your OS from here.
  6. Then launch the tool and just follow the on-screen instructions to complete the rest of the process.
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# if you have Mac with M1/M2 chip, you need to enable x86 emulation

# otherwise, just skip it

softwareupdate --install-rosetta



cd Downloads # probably

# add execute permission for file

chmod +x gpth-macos # or gpth-linux

# tell MacOS Gatekeeper to not worry

xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine gpth-macos

# run it 🏃

./gpth-macos # or ./gpth-linux

# follow on-screen instructions

In my case after transferring the photos to my device, the OS ended up resetting the original creation time of those photos with the current time. This isn’t a drawback with the tool but rather the default functioning of Android. So I carried out the entire process again but this time used another popular open-source gallery app “ Simple Gallery ” that managed to keep the original file creation time when moving and coping [your result might vary]. However, the app costs a tiny bit, so decide accordingly.

Google preferred - 2 Google preferred - 3

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