Last year in December, Facebook launched a new data-porting tool in Ireland. This tool enabled users of the social media platform transfer their photos and videos to their Google account. Now, the social media giant has made the tool available for its users in the UK and the rest of the European Union, along with some countries of Latin America and Africa. The new tool is simply labelled “transfer a copy of your photos and videos” in Facebook’s settings.
How to transfer your Facebook photos to Google
Like all automated tools, a user doesn’t need to do a lot for transferring their files from Facebook. The social media website already offers an option for users to download all their data from the platform in a zipped format. This new tool is available alongside it and it transfers Facebook users’ images and videos directly to another photo storage service like Google Photos, in an encrypted manner. The new tool can be accessed in Facebook’s settings, which is available under the downward facing arrow on the top-right of your homepage.
In settings, one needs to click on “Your Facebook information” tab on the right and they will notice the option listed on the right window pane. Tap on the option and select Google Photos from the dropdown menu that is titled ‘Chose Destination.’ Do note that one will need to perform separate transfers for their video and images since the tool doesn’t export both at once.
“At Facebook, we believe that if you share data with one service, you should be able to move it to another,’ said Steve Satterfield, director of Privacy and Public Policy at Facebook, in a blog post. “That’s the principle of data portability, which gives people control and choice while also encouraging innovation.”
The Data Transfer Project
Facebook’s new tool is built as a part of the open-source Data Transfer Project or DTP. DTP is a partnership between major tech companies for building a common framework using open-source code for connecting any two online service providers. Currently, Facebook has only listed Google Photos as the destination for transferring media files to, but a spokesperson told TechCrunch that other companies may also soon join the DTP and work towards transfer of different types of services and data types.
Image credits: Facebook
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