Last December, Facebook introduced a new tool, allowing users to transfer their Facebook pictures and videos to Google Photos. The feature went live in Latin America and the Asia Pacific this February, followed by regions in the UK, US, and Canada. The company has now made this feature available to all Facebook users globally.
To use the feature, open Facebook Settings and go to Information for Facebook Information. Here, you have to select Videos Transfer a copy of your photo or video.
Facebook will now ask for your password to verify your identity. Enter the password, choose Google Photos as the destination, and. Select ‘Confirm Transfer’. After getting certified with your Google account, the process begins. Facebook will notify you with an in-app notification and email after the transfer is complete.
Facebook’s photo transfer tool is part of an open-source data transfer project opened back in 2018. Current contributors to the project include Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter.
As noted in the official website, the data transfer project (DTP) is a joint effort of organizations to create a common framework with open-source code that allows any two online service providers to provide seamless, direct, user-friendly access to data. Will connect for portability.
For now, Google Photos is the only destination where you can transfer your Facebook media. However, the company plans to integrate the facility with more partners in the future. According to a Facebook spokesperson quoted by The Verge, the transfer facility will be enabled on all companies’ part of the data transfer project.
Here’s how to use the new data transfer tool on Facebook:
- While logged into your Facebook account, click on the down arrow at the end of the upper menu bar and select “Settings.”
- Select the tab that reads “Your Facebook Information.”
- Click on “Transfer a copy of your Photos or Videos.”