Google Photos, the free photo-storage service, comes preinstalled on many Android phones. It’s become so popular that even iPhone users want to use it even though they have iCloud Photos. Fortunately, it's also available on iOS, and it doesn't discriminate in its features. What you get on Android is available on iPad and iPhone too. Here we will tell you how to transfer your iPhone photos to Google Photos.

  1. How To Use Iphone Apps On Mac
  2. App To Move Photos From Iphone To Macbook
  3. Export Photos From Mac To Iphone

If you recently shifted to an Android phone or you want to use the Google Photos service instead of iCloud, this post will help you in making the transition. In the former case, you simply need to add the pictures in Google Photos, as shown in this post. For the latter, you have to install the Google Photos app and disable iCloud. The rest is automatic.

Let's check in detail how to move iPhone or iCloud images to Google Photos. But before that, let's understand Google Photos a bit.

When deleting photos from your iPhone's camera roll, macOS considers the phone as a digital camera and will prompt you to authorize iMazing to access your Photo library and external volumes. IMazing will not access your Mac's photo library, but you still must give this authorization in order for iMazing to be allowed by macOS to delete photos. Applies To: iPhone XS/XS Max/XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus, iPhone 7/7 Plus, iPhone 6/6s, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro. It's true that you can import photos from your iPhone to Mac using iPhoto - Mac's built-in app that can transfer or manage your iPhone photos.

How Does Google Photos Work on iPhone

To transfer photos from iPhone to Mac 10.15 using Image Capture, follow the simple guidance below. Firstly, on your iPhone, go to “Settings”, then scroll down, click “Photos” then scroll all the way down again and click “Keep original” when you found “Transfer to Mac or PC”. We explain 7 simple ways to transfer photos and video from an iPhone to a Mac. Find out how to use iCloud photos, Photo Stream, iCloud Files, Messages, Airdrop and more to import photos to your Mac.

Google Photos acts in the same way as iCloud. Besides letting you view the photos available on your iPhone, it continuously stores them on the Google cloud. You can remove all the photos from iPhone and keep them in Google Photos. That way, you can free up storage on your iPhone. Even though iCloud also saves space by compressing photos, it doesn’t remove them entirely from your phone. So some storage is still occupied.

Talking about storage, iCloud only offers 5GB free storage, which is shared with other Apple products. On the other hand, Google Photos offers 15GB of free storage, which is also shared between other Google products.

In addition to the Photos app, Image Capture on Mac will also help to transfer the photos on your iPhone. Both programs work similarly when it comes to importing photos from iPhone to Mac. However, unlike the Photos app, Image Capture mainly enables users to upload pictures from digital cameras or a device that has a camera to the Mac computer. Photo Transfer App allows you to quickly copy photos and videos between your iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC using your local wifi network. With over 10,000 5-star reviews in the App Store, thousands of happy users and millions of photo transfers, this app is an indispensable tool for your iOS device. This is probably the easiest and quickest method to transfer photos. Here are the necessary steps: Step 1. Grab the USB cable and connect your Mac to your iPhone. The Photos app should automatically launch when you connect the two devices. If it doesn’t open the app via the Dock or Launchpad.

However, you can upload unlimited pictures if you choose High-quality back up mode instead of Original quality. The difference is that in the High-quality mode, your photos are compressed to 16MP and videos to 1080p. In the Original quality, they are saved with their original size.

Download Google Photos on iPhone

How To Use Iphone Apps On Mac

Also on Guiding Tech
Google Photos vs iCloud Photos: Which One to Use on iPhone
Read MorePhotos

Move Images to Google Photos

There are two ways to move images from iPhone to Google Photos. You can either do it on the iPhone or iPad itself or take the help of a computer. Both methods are covered below.

If you are switching to an Android phone, you only need to install the Google Photos app (in case it isn't preinstalled) and use the same Google account. All your iPhone pictures will show up automatically. If you want to use Google Photos instead of iCloud, then simply disable iCloud after moving photos, as shown below.

1. How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Google Photos on iPhone

For that, you need to enable the Backup and sync feature on the Google Photos app on iPhone. By doing so, all the pictures and videos on your iPhone will automatically back up to Google Photos. This method works in both situations, i.e., whether iCloud Photos is enabled or not.

In case iCloud Photos is turned off, then only the photos available on your phone will migrate to Google Photos. If it is on, then all the images, including the ones on iCloud, will get stored on Google Photos automatically. That’s because iCloud Photos is primarily a photo sync service. Meaning, any photo stored in iCloud will create its copy on your phone. Now that you have a copy and that’s what Google Photos needs, it gets saved there too.

To save space on iPhone, Apple lets you choose between two iCloud settings — Optimize iPhone storage and Download & Keep Originals. When the former is enabled, the main copy is saved on iCloud, and you see only an optimized version. This feature only starts working when your phone is running low on storage. In case your phone has enough storage, it will save an original copy on your iPhone too. The second option stores the original copy on your phone and in iCloud both.

Note: If iCloud is enabled, we would suggest transferring images on computer to Google Photos to avoid any confusion between Optimize iPhone storage and Download & Keep Originals.

Here’s how to go about it.

Step 1: Launch the Google Photos app on your iPhone or iPad. Log in with your Google account when asked.

Step 2: Tap on the three-bar icon at the top-left corner and select Settings from the menu.

Step 3: Tap on Backup & sync. Then, enable Backup & sync on the next screen.

Step 4: You will see the Upload size option when you enable backup. Choose High quality to get free unlimited storage.

2. How to Move Photos from iPhone to Google Photos on Computer

There are two ways to do that. The first one is for offline photos, and the second one is for pictures stored in iCloud.

Move Offline Photos

In the first case, you need to transfer the images from your iPhone to the computer by using file transfer apps or connecting it via a USB cable. Once the images are on your system, open photos.google.com on your PC via any web browser. Log in with your Google account. Click on Upload at the top and select Computer. Then navigate to the iPhone files that you recently copied to your system. Select the files to upload them to Google Photos.

Also on Guiding Tech
#How-to/Guides
Click here to see our How-to/Guides articles page

Move iCloud Pictures

If you want to transfer pictures saved in iCloud to Google Photos on your PC, you need to download them first. For that, open icloud.com/photos and log in with your Apple ID. Click on the Select option present on the right side of photos. Then, select the photos and videos that you want to move to Google Photos. Press CTRL + A (Windows) and CMD + A (macOS) to select all files.

Once you have selected all the required files, click on the download icon at the top to start saving them on your PC.

A ZIP file will be created. So you need to download and extract it. After extracting it, open photos.google.com. Click on the Upload icon followed by Computer. Navigate to the ZIP folder that you extracted. Add the images and videos.

What Happens When You Add Images to Google Photos on Computer

In both cases, the uploaded files will automatically show up on the Google Photos app on your iPhone, provided you are using the same Google account. You don't have to enable any setting. Even if Backup and sync is disabled, the photos will still sync as it is automatic. They will not occupy any storage on your iPhone as the photos technically reside in the cloud only.

Check if Photo Transfer Was Successful

When the transfer is complete, you should verify by checking the total number of photos on your iPhone and in Google Photos.

To check the total number of photos on iPhone, open the Apple Photos app and scroll down. You will see the count. Similarly, open icloud.com/photos, and scroll down. Note the number of photos.

Now open Google dashboard and check the number listed under Google Photos. It should match with the above number provided there was no photo or video already in Google Photos.

How to Disable iCloud Photos

When all your pictures and videos show up in Google Photos, and you have verified the same from Google Dashboard, you can go ahead and disable iCloud Photos. For that, open Settings on your iPhone and tap on Photos. Turn off the toggle next to iCloud Photos. Before disabling it, you should read in detail what happens when you disable iCloud Photos.

Also on Guiding Tech
What Happens When You Uninstall Google Photos App

App To Move Photos From Iphone To Macbook

Read More

Be Patient

If you have many files on your iPhone, then the process will take time, depending on the number of photos and videos. The overall process also depends on the internet speed. So have patience while migrating the photos. If you ever want to switch back to iCloud from Google Photos, you can do that too.

Next up: Even though you have transferred your photos, is the question who can see my Google Photos bothering you? Find out the real answer from the link given below.


The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextWho Can See My Google PhotosAlso See#google photos #icloud

Did You Know

It's estimated that people share more than 700 billion photos per year on Facebook.

More in iOS

Top 5 RSS Reader Apps for iPhone

'I wanted to import photos from iPhone to Mac via iPhoto, but only to find that it didn’t work. Is there any effective solutions I can try?'

'I tried to transfer photos from my iPhone to my Mac to free up my iPhone space. But iPhoto won’t import photos from my iPhone successfully. What should I do?'

According to iPhone users, many of them have encountered the issue Can't Import Photos from iPhone to Mac when they tried to transfer photos from iPhone to iMac or MacBook. Luckily, in addition to using the built-in features like iPhoto or Photo App on your Mac to import photos from iPhone, there are other completely FREE methods to get things done, which will be introduced in Part 1. Besides, if you insist on import photos from iPhone to iPhoto, you can learn how to fix the issue iPhoto Won't Import Photos from iPhone with the solutions provided in Part 2. (The solutions provided can also be applied to your devices when you can't import videos from iPhone to Mac.)

Part 1: How to import photos from iPhone to Mac for free

There are many other ways you can try to successfully transfer photos from iPhone to Mac without iPhoto or Photos App. But the most practical and useful one is to use the FREE iOS data transfer tool that is compatible with both Mac and Windows PC, EaseUS MobiMover Free. With MobiMover, you can copy files between two iOS devices (iPhone/iPad in iOS 8 or later) and between iOS device and computer. What’s more, MobiMover is also equipped with the file management features that help to manage your iDevice content from computer by deleting, editing or adding items.

What can MobiMover transfer or manage for you:

Photos: Camera Roll, Photo Library, Photo Stream, Photo Videos

Videos: Movies, TV shows, Music Videos

Audios: Music, Ringtones, Voice Memos, Audiobooks

Others: Contacts, Notes, Messages, Voice Mails, Books, and Safari Bookmarks

As you can see from the list above, the files you can import from iPhone are not limited to photos and videos. Besides, with iPhoto or Photos App, you can only import photos from Camera Roll to Mac. While you can transfer all photos in Camera Roll, Photo Stream, and Photo Library from your iPhone to Mac using EaseUS MobiMover. Wonderful, right? Follow the steps below to get things done when you can't import photos or videos from iPhone to Mac with iPhoto/Photos.

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to Mac with a USB cable. Run EaseUS MobiMover, choose 'Phone to Mac' and click the 'Next' button to continue.

Step 2. Check the category/categories you want to copy from your iPhone to Mac. As you can see, you can copy other supported files together with photos from your iPhone to Mac all at once. After that, don't forget to customize the storage path for the exported photos unless you want to save them on your desktop.

Step 3. Now, click the 'Transfer' button to start transferring photos or other files from your iPhone to Mac without iTunes. Exporting files from iPhone to Mac with MobiMover is the right way for backup to avoid unexpected data loss.

For you iPhone users, EaseUS MobiMover Free an unmissable tool when it comes to iOS data transfer and file management. When you get a new iPhone, you will probably need to transfer photos from iPhone to iPhone and sync contacts from iPhone to iPhone, which can be easily done with MobiMover.

Part 2: Fixes to Can't Import Photos from iPhone to Mac

Solution 1: Check your iPhone status

To make the photo transfer from your iPhone to Mac possible, it’s necessary for you to unlock your iPhone when and after you connect your iPhone to Mac and click Trust when the trust messages appear on your iPhone.

Solution 2: Reset Location & Privacy

The effectiveness of this tip has been proven by many users. When you can’t import photos from iPhone to Mac, follow the steps below to reset Location & Privacy and choose Trust when the prompt appears on your iPhone asking you whether to trust this computer or not.

Step 1: Open Settings App on your iPhone.

Step 2: Go to General > Reset >Reset Location & Privacy and click Reset Settings to confirm.

Step 3: Connect your iPhone to your Mac and click Trust on your iPhone.

Step 4: Import photos from iPhone to Mac.

App To Move Photos From Iphone To Mac

Solution 3: reconnect your iPhone and restart the programs

Disconnect your iPhone from your Mac, shouting down the programs involved, restart your computer, and then plug your iPhone back in and try to import photos from iPhone to Mac again.

Solution 4: Check for update on your iPhone and Mac

It's possible that the software on your Mac or the operating system of your devices are too old to support the photo transfer and make you can’t import photos from iPhone to Mac. Here is the software you need to update. (This tip is also helpful when you can't import photos from iPhone to Windows PC.)

Export Photos From Mac To Iphone

  • Update iTunes to its latest version.
  • Update photo-management App (iPhoto, Photos, Image Capture) to its latest version.
  • Update iOS operating system on your iPhone by going to Settings >General >Software Update.